Gianluca Ginoble and I
by annawritesfanfiction
Summary: The boys of Il Volo say that Italian boys love three things: eating, soccer, and their mothers. But when Gianluca Ginoble meets Naomi Kendall, a beautiful girl in awe of the world around her, he might have to add her to his list.
1. Chapter 1

Gianluca Ginoble and I

Chapter 1

***Author's note: Hello everyone, I'm back, and proud to present my second fanfiction to you! This one is about Il Volo, a teenage singing trio from Italy. If you haven't heard of them, I encourage you to look them up, as the story might be better if you have the soundtrack to go along with it! Those of you who wanted a longer fanfiction will be pleased to know that this one is more lengthy than ****I Love You, Dan Howell**** (my first fanfiction). I had a lot of fun writing this, and put in a lot of time, and I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to email me at annawritesfanfiction at gmaildotcom. (The site doesn't let you write the address normally.) Enjoy…**

I took the tea from the fridge and went out into the garden, running a hand through my wet, loosely curly brown hair. I went to my bench and sat cross-legged on it, the cup of tea in my hands. I had been studying for exams all day, and I was trying to shut my brain off before bed. It's very hellish when you end up dreaming about exams all night.

I sat quietly, listening to the silence of the night. One of the little bunnies that adore my garden hopped out of a bush and scampered off into the vegetable patch. I let it go. I didn't really plant them for me as much as for the bunnies.

I quietly sipped my tea, and pulled my phone out of the pocket of my shorts. I scrolled through my music and put on a song called "O Sole Mio" by a group called Il Volo. I had come across them on Youtube one day and loved their music. They were Italian, and sang songs in Italian, Spanish, and English, and they were absolutely beautiful. The songs, I mean, but that adjective could stand for the guys as well.

The music was just what I needed to be soothed, and I smiled to myself and dangled my bare foot off the bench.

But then I heard something outside the garden. A rustling, and a shadow fell over the little garden light.

I put my tea down beside me and stood. I glanced fearfully over at the back door, my heart beginning to pound.

Il Volo sang, and I called out into the night, trying to mask the fear rising in my chest.

"Who's there!? Come out!"

I reached for my phone.

Someone stepped into the garden, and the light fell across his face.

I dropped the phone in surprise, and the music stopped playing.

"Hey," I said. "I know you."

"Do you?" he asked in a deep Italian accent.

"You're Gi- Gian-"

"Gianluca Ginoble."

"Yeah, that." I looked over his silky-looking dark hair, deep brown eyes, and crooked smile.

"Sorry I frightened you," he said in that amazing accent, "But I heard someone playing one of our songs, and I was curious to find out who."

"Yeah," I said, "No problem. I'm Naomi Kendall, by the way. Sorry for my…appearance…I have finals tomorrow."

"Naomi," he repeated. "Do you know that it means beautiful?"

I could feel myself blushing. I looked down at my bare feet in the grass and smiled.

"No," I said simply, "I didn't."

"It's s pleasure to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

I reached out, but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips and kissed it, and I was blushing all over again.

"Do you want to sit?" I asked, trying to be polite.

We went to the bench, and I took the glass of tea in my hands and sat crossed legged again. Gianluca sat next to me, leaving a little space between us, his hands rubbing circles on his jeans. I watched him look around us and then smile at me.

"This is a beautiful garden," he said.

"Thank you. I planted everything myself. I just love nature!"

"It shows," he said.

This seemed too…normal. This was Gianluca Ginoble, part of Il Volo! My heart was still pounding. This doesn't just happen! Does it?

"So…what in the world are you doing here!? This is crazy, one minute I'm listening to this lovely Italian trio, and the next, one of the singers is in my backyard!"

He chuckled.

"Well, the other guys and I used to live in L.A., but our parents wanted to live someplace quieter, so we just moved here yesterday."

"Oh," I said. "That explains all the moving vans. I didn't have time to go and see what was going on because I had to study. So… do the other two guys live on this street now as well?"

"Yes," he said. "I'll have to introduce you."

"Yes, please!" I said excitedly. "Wow! Il Volo lives on my street!"

He smiled his crooked smile at me. Gosh, he was handsome.

"So you have finals tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I came outside to quiet my brain before going to sleep, but it looks like that's out, now that I'm sitting next to Gianluca Ginoble!"

He smiled.

"Sorry about that. Do you mind me asking what grade you are in?"

"I'm a senior. I'm eighteen, and ready to be done with high school!"

He chuckled softly.

"I'm eighteen also. But I had a private tutor, and I am finished with high school. Now I can focus purely on music. It's wonderful!"

"I love your accent," I said. "Where are you from, again?"

"A place called Abruzzo, in central Italy. It's close to Rome. It is a very beautiful place."

"I'd love to go to Italy! I've never even left the U.S."

"Maybe someday you will go."

"I hope so, but probably not. Is Il Volo touring or something right now?"

"We actually just finished our tour. We are on a break for the summer, but we'll do concerts and interviews here and there. Going on a tour is very… hectic. We're very happy to have some time to relax and write some music! After the summer we'll start planning more events, but I don't think we'll be touring anymore for a long while."

"Awesome," I said, sipping my tea.

One of the braver bunnies hopped up and sniffed Gianluca's shoe.

He looked surprised, and I laughed softly.

He turned to me.

"The little bunnies love the garden," I explained, slowly reaching down my hand to it.

It rubbed its little face against it and hopped back into the bushes.

"Maybe not the garden as much as you," he commented, and I smiled and finished my tea.

"So," he said. "You listen to Il Volo."

"I love Il Volo," I admitted, nodding, "You guys sing beautifully."

"Thank you," he said, smiling crookedly, "We love to sing!"

"I watched one of your concerts on PBS one time. You looked like you were having a lot of fun, and you handed out roses to people in the audience. It was so sweet!"

"Concerts are a lot of fun, once you get over being nervous, and the people just get so happy when we give them a rose!"

"Oh, I bet," I said, nodding, and something around his neck caught my eye. I reached out to examine it, and he stayed still as I did so. It was a medal of a silver eagle with outstretched wings, soaring. On the wings the words "_Il Volo_" were engraved. I flipped it over to discover engraved Italian words.

"This is nice," I said, "Can you tell me what it means?"

"It means good luck. My mother gave it to me when Il Volo was formed, on an Italian T.V. show when the three of us were kids. I guess it's a sort of my good luck charm."

We were quiet for a second, and I fidgeted with the empty glass.

"Well, you better go to sleep, or study some more, for your finals, yes?"

I made a face.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He smiled and stood, and as did I.

"I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?"

"Probably. Tomorrow's the last day of finals, and I'll get home early, at around lunchtime."

He held out his hand, and I took it. Like before, he raised it to his lips and kissed it.

"Until tomorrow, Naomi Kendall."

"Good night, Gianluca Ginoble."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I climbed out of the car and pulled my schoolbag out the front seat. I smiled, stretched, and breathed in the summer air.

School's done! For days I'd been cooped up inside, studying with no time to go outside.

Now I had the whole summer to play and explore! An exited smiled spread across my face, and I hurried to unlock the front door. I went inside, dropping my bag on the counter, then ran out the back door and into the garden.

A baby bunny bounded up to greet me.

I laughed and bent down.

"Hey, precious!" I said. "I'm done with my finals!"

I made a kissing sound with my mouth and laughed when it looked up at me in surprise.

"Ah, Naomi!" someone called.

I stood and turned, looking past the bushes and the fence into Gianluca's backyard.

He was sitting in the grass with two other boys.

The other Il Volo boys! I jumped up and the bunny scampered off. I went over to the fence.

"Hey Gianluca!" I said cheerfully.

"Well, you seem happy," he observed, coming to open the gate.

"How could I not be!? I'm done with finals!"

"Great!" he said, letting me into the yard.

The two boys stood.

One had long, soft looking hair pointed upward, and was wearing large red glasses framing his sweet brown eyes. He half-smiled, spreading his full lips across cutely somewhat-crooked teeth. The other had very thick hair and eyebrows, with bright eyes and a beautiful smile that revealed dimples. He had broad shoulders and was very happy-looking.

Gianluca motioned to them. "This is…"

"Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto," I filled in.

"Hey!" Gianluca said, teasingly turning to me. "You can remember their names but not mine!?"

"Yours is harder!" I said indignantly. "And also, I searched Il Volo after you left. It's not everyday you meet a pop-opera singer!"

The boys laughed, and Piero and Ignazio each took one of my hands, kissing it like Gianluca had and making me blush.

"You look surprised that we kiss your hands," Ignazio observed.

"It's just that…usually American boys don't…"

"Should we not do it, then?" Piero asked.

I shook my head vigorously.

"Oh, no! Trust me, girls will love it!"

Piero smiled widely.

"It's only respectful," Gianluca said, shrugging.

I nodded, smiling.

"I'm Naomi Kendall, by the way…" I said to Piero and Ignazio.

"So," Gianluca said to me. "Now that exams are over, what are you going to do with your free time?"

"Well, for now, I'm going to go bike-riding."

"Where to?" he asked.

I smiled.

"I don't know yet."

"What?"

"I just explore. Ride around and see where I end up."

"Is that safe?" he asked, looked concerned.

I smiled.

"Bye, guys!"

I turned and dashed off to get my bike.

"Be careful, Naomi!" Gianluca called.

"You sound like my mother!" I called back.

I trudged back into the garden and pushed my bike into the bushes where I keep it. Then I flopped into the grass, tired but bursting with joy. I fingered one of my budding flowers and smiled to myself. I started to hum one of my favorite songs and pulled my brown curls out of my ponytail, letting them fall around my shoulders.

I heard singing behind me and I stood up. I walked through the bushes and leaned on the fence, quietly listening to the three boys harmonizing.

Ignazio spotted me and waved, and I waved back.

Gianluca turned and then stood to unlock the fence. But as he approached, I hopped over it.

He smiled crookedly.

"How was your bike ride?" he asked.

"Oh, Gianluca, it was amazing!" I said excitedly, clutching me hands to my chest.

"How's that?"

We went over to sit with Piero and Ignazio.

I leaned forward, as if telling them a secret.

"I found this hidden trail! I had never seen it before, but I followed it uphill, and it was so cool! Oh, the things I saw!"

"Like what things?" Ignazio asked.

I smiled, remembering all the marvelous things.

"There were these tracks… I think they were fox, and there were all these beautiful orange flowers clustered together. I saw a bird's nest up high in a tree, and I climbed up and saw these tiny little baby birds in it! And I found this little trickle of water that went over these tiny shells and collected into a little spring, and there was a fawn drinking from it! It was just looking at me with these big gorgeous eyes, and then it bounded away! Oh, I had such a good time! I just love nature! See, I haven't been able to go out because of studying, and it was _horrible_, being cooped up in my house like that!"

I realized that I was gushing, and I stopped talking, but I smiled wide in wonder at my discoveries. The three of them were smiling at me and chuckling at my enthusiasm.

"Oh, I wanted to stay there, but I got tired!" I said, smiling and rubbing my eyes.

"Wow," Gianluca said, watching me, "It sounds wonderful!"

I nodded.

"Before you run off somewhere again," he said, "Would you care to listen to a bit of a song we're working on?"

"Really? I'd love to!" I said.

Gosh, Il Volo was going to sing for me!

Piero looked around at his friends, and then sang a note. Gianluca and Ignazio both joined it. It was such a beautiful sound…I smiled in awe.

Then Gianluca began to sing in Italian. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was magical.

Ignazio joined him, and then Piero. They all sang a few marvelous notes together, and then ended it.

"Aww, that's all?" I asked.

"We've only just started it," Gianluca explained. "But what do you think?"

"It's amazing!" I breathed, and they smiled at each other, pleased.

"But what's it about?"

"Italy, our home."

"Wow, I so want to go to Italy!"

All three boys smiled over my shoulder.

I turned to see one of the baby bunnies hopping through the fence toward me.

It came over to me and I carefully scooped it up and held it to my chest, making kissing noises to it, as I stroked its little ears.

"Aww, so cute!" Ignazio smiled, his dimples showing.

"They just love her," Gianluca said to them.

I slowly stood up, trying not to frighten the little creature.

"I guess I'll go," I said to them. "I'll see you guys later, I hope."

They nodded and smiled, and I went to the fence. I nudged the bunny through it, then leaped over it myself.

As I walked, I turned to look over my shoulder.

Piero and Ignazio were talking to each other, but Gianluca was turning to look at me.

Instead of looking away, he smiled and nodded to me.

He was so handsome!

I blushed and turned away.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I sat cross-legged on the bench, listening to the quiet and sipping herbal tea as I watched the sun rise. The sky was painted with pinks and oranges, with a bit of blue at the very top. Silhouettes of trees were black against the sky, and birds called to one another from their branches.

After about twenty minutes, Gianluca's screen door opened and he came out in a thin gray T-shirt and jeans.

He looked over and saw me, and smiled that crooked smile.

I found myself wishing he'd come over.

To my delight, he did.

"Good morning," he said in that beautiful accent. "You're up early."

I patted the bench next to me, and he sat.

"I always get up this early, what's your excuse?"

He laughed a little, "I'm still getting used to the time change. So how are you today?"

"Exited!" I said. "I'm going exploring again today, and I don't have to study a bit!"

"Sounds fun," he said.

We sat quietly, and I looked over him, admiring his think dark hair, brown eyes, and beautiful jaw line. Italians are such beautiful people. He looked over at me, too.

Something stirred in my mind.

I would love to talk more with Gianluca, get to know him, hear his stories.

"Gianluca," I said, "Would you…want to come with me? To go exploring?"

He smiled.

"I'd love to."

I smiled back.

"My mother says it might rain today, so wear something that can get wet, okay?"

"I'll just wear this, I guess" he said, looking down at his grey shirt and jeans.

"I'm going to change, and then are you okay to leave?"

"Sure," he said, "I'll go and get my bike."

I got up and went inside to put on a swimsuit top underneath my T-shirt, and I left my jean shorts on. I wrote a note to my mother, who was still asleep, then went out, where Gianluca was waiting.

"Let's go!" I said, pulling my bike from the bushes.

We rode for about an hour, just heading away from our neighborhood. I wanted to reach about where yesterday's trail was, so I could go through a place I hadn't been before.

Eventually we reached a part of the woods where the first trail had been, but I could tell it was a different one.

I got off my bike, and so did Gianluca.

"Let's go down this one, okay?"

"Fine with me. Do you ride this far everyday?"

I smiled.

"Why, am I wearing you out, Gianluca?"

"Yes!"

I laughed.

We hid our bikes behind some trees and set off down the trail.

A summer breeze rustled our hair as we crunched over the little rocks.

"Look," I said, pointing to the dirt, "tracks. It looks like deer, I think. Oh, I hope we see one!"

He nodded.

"They are beautiful creatures," he agreed.

We walked along the trail, with me looking all about, enjoying the view of the low hanging branches, the scattered flowers, and the tiny singing birds.

"Naomi, how often do you go out to explore like this?"

"Well, as often as I can," I said, "The world is so beautiful, and I just want to soak up as much of that beauty I can get!"

He smiled.

"You are beautiful enough," he said in that wonderful Italian accent.

I blushed, "Thank you."

I looked down at our shoes crunching over pebbles, then back up at him.

"Tell me about what it's like to like a life…doing what you love… singing for thousands of people…adored by fans …meeting famous people and being on T.V. …

He laughed softly.

"Well…it's wonderful, and so crazy! It all feels like a great dream, and sometimes I stop and I think about all of this, all the fans who are so kind, and I wonder if it is real. It all just might be a dream…but if it is, I hope that no one wakes me up."

I stopped walking, and he turned to me.

"You are so cool, you know that?" I said, grinning.

He smiled.

"Why, thank you Naomi."

I started walking again, and so did he.

"So what are you doing after summer?" he asked.

"I am going to college to be a writer."

"A writer? Very nice. What do you write about?"

"Anything and everything," I said. "I have loads of notebooks and flash drives full of stories, finished and unfinished."

"Nice!" he said, nodding approvingly. "Local college?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's only about twenty minutes away, so I'm going to live at home and drive there every morning."

He nodded, his deep brown eyes glittering in the sunlight.

As we walked, the sky slowly started to darken. Rain was on its way.

"Do you smell that?" I whispered suddenly, inhaling deeply and smiling blissfully.

"What?"

"Water. Not the rain, though. Like a lake or something."

"You can smell the water?"

I nodded.

"Me and nature are like _this_!" I joked, crossing my fingers and holding them up.

I took his hand and pulled him along.

"Come on!" I said, running.

We ran along the trail, and I slowed when I could see the lake in the distance.

"Why are we stopping?" he asked.

"Shh…" I said, putting a finger to my lips. "I don't want to scare away any critters."

"How thoughtful of you."

I smiled, and we crept forward.

I peered through low-hanging tree branches.

"Gianluca!" I whispered, putting a hand on his arm. "Look!"

He leaned toward me.

"What do you see?"

I pointed.

Across the lake, a mother deer and her little fawn drank from the water.

"Oh," I breathed. "Beautiful."

"Yes," he said, but he wasn't looking at the deer, which made my heart pound.

We watched the mama turn and begin to walk away, then stop for the fawn to catch up. They gracefully went back into the forest. I smiled. Gianluca was watching me quietly.

I walked out of the trees and went to stand by the water. I pulled off my old tennis shoes and tossed them aside, cautiously wading into the cool waters.

Gianluca came up to the water's edge, standing beside me.

It began to drizzle, causing rings to spread out on the surface of the water. I stepped out of it and my feet squished in the mud.

I looked up at the sky.

"Well, Gianluca, looks like we're gonna get wet anyway, huh?"

"What?" he asked, watching me.

I smiled and pulled off my T-shirt, revealing my swimsuit top, and threw it to where my shoes were. I turned to the lake and smiled gleefully.

Then I ran forward, whooping, through the shallow water and jumped in the deeper part.

A fish brushed against my leg and I tried to catch it. It flew into the air and onto my head, making me shriek and fall backwards. I jumped back up, throwing water everywhere, and laughed.

Gianluca was pulling off his T-shirt, laughing at me.

"Come on, Gianluca!" I called. "The water's great!"

He ran to join me, smiling as the waters rushed over him. "It's cold!"

"Hey!" I said. "You're not even getting your hair wet!"

He laughed, and I splashed him.

"Hey!" he said indignantly, splashing back.

I laughed and ran my hands over my face to get the water out of my eyes.

I splashed him again, and he started to come after me.

I laughed and turned to swim away.

"Ah!" he said, surprised "These fish are touching me!"

He splashed toward me.

"Swim away, fish!" I said, "He's gonna get us!"

I wasn't a very fast swimmer, and soon he caught up with me. He hoisted me into the air, laughing, and dropped me into the water right in front of him.

I shrieked as I fell into it. Then I had an idea, and, eyes closed, I blindly swam around behind him. I popped up and grabbed his shoulders, and when he turned, I pushed him backwards.

I laughed as he came back up, spitting out water and rubbing his face.

"Grrr, Naomi!" he said. He reached out and grabbed me and pulled me to him. He hoisted me up onto his shoulders and I clasped my hands around his chin. He held my legs to his chest.

The drizzling had become a light rain.

"I haven't been swimming in ages!" he said.

"You just have to know where to look!" I said.

He laughed, and pointed to the trees.

"Look!" he said.

"What?"

"That bundled up thing on the branch! It looks like a rope swing!"

"Oh, yes!" I said, "Let's go get it!"

He released me and I pushed off of his shoulders.

I ran out of the water and to the tree, squishing through the mud, my curls dripping wet and bouncing around me.

I grabbed onto a branch and hoisted myself into the tree.

I climbed up to the branch and carefully went out to get the rope.

"Be careful, Naomi!" he called, hurrying to catch up with me. "Don't fall!"

"I won't," I said, pushing the rope off the branch.

He came out of the lake as I climbed down.

"I get to swing on it first!" I declared stepping back to run.

He ran up behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle.

"No, no, no!" he said, pulling me to him. "I must see if it's safe!"

He set me aside and ran forward, grabbing the rope as I yelled, "Hey, no fair, Gianluca!"

He laughed as he flew into the water.

"Move!" I called. "My turn!"

I moved farther back so I could get a higher swing. The rain was pouring down, and as I ran, I slipped in the mud. I fell into the shallower water and skidded through, eventually falling on my face.

"Naomi!" he called, rushing toward me.

I sat up, laughing.

When he saw that I was laughing, he laughed to, but came over and helped me up.

"I'm granting you another turn," he said playfully.

"Thank you, your majesty," I teased, curtsying.

I ran back to my starting place and tried again, this time successfully flying out into the cool water.

I jumped up, hands in the air, laughing.

I scrambled to get out the water to do it again, as Gianluca went flying into the lake.

He stood and didn't move when I ran and jumped.

I was underwater, eyes closed, and I felt a hand under my back and under my legs.

He pulled me out of the water to his chest.

My breath caught in my throat, and I smiled at him.

"What?"

"Do you want to find someplace dry while we wait for the rain to end?"

"Let's start home," I said, "maybe we'll find something along the way."

He nodded, and put me down. I dashed away from him, out of the water, and collected our shoes and shirts. We put on our shoes, and I pulled on my wet shirt so people passing by couldn't see my swimsuit.

The rain was running off of Gianluca dark hair, and his jeans were absolutely soaked.

"Isn't the world beautiful when it rains?" I asked.

He smiled.

"How so?"

"Everything's different. In the sun, it's hot and bright. But the rain makes everything…quiet. And everything becomes slippery and fun!"

He nodded.

"Hmm…usually people dislike the rain."

"Oh, not me!" I said, "Rain is fun! At least most of the time."

We found our bikes behind the trees and decided to walk with them for a while until we found shelter, or until the rain slowed.

"You don't have your phone, do you?" Gianluca asked.

"Nope, I lost it," I said.

"Oh, sorry."

"Nah, I lose it pretty much every other day. It'll turn up."

He watched me quietly.

"What?"

"People I know get upset when they lose their phones."

"There's more to explore than just the Internet," I said, motioning around us.

He smiled.

"You are...wonderful."

I blushed.

I guided my bike with one hand, and the other I held at my side.

Gianluca slipped his hand into mine.

I was surprised at first, but I looked at his smile and then relaxed at his gentle grip.

We walked for quite a while, and the rain gradually slowed.

As we walked down a quiet street, a sleek red car pulled up next to us.

I froze and gripped Gianluca's hand, but he smiled.

The window rolled down and Piero and Ignazio smiled out at us.

"You guys are soaked!" Ignazio said. "What did you do!?"

"Gianluca went exploring with me, and we found a lake!" I said.

"Aw, without your boys?" Piero joked to Gianluca, who turned to smile his crooked grin at me.

"Well, would you guys like a ride home, then?" Ignazio said.

Normally, I would have liked to keep walking in the rain, but Gianluca looked tired, so I agreed.

"We're going to get the car all wet, though!" I said.

"Oh, well," said Piero, "It's not ours…It's Gianluca's."

Surprised, I turned to Gianluca to see if this was true, and the way he smiled and rolled his eyes at them made me burst out laughing.

Ignazio and Piero started laughing too, and Gianluca opened the door for me, then went to put the bikes in the trunk.

Both boys in the front seat turned to grin at me.

"What?" I asked.

Ignazio shook his head, grinning, but Piero teased, "We saw him holding your hand."

I blushed, and they laughed.

Gianluca climbed in next to me, and they both grinned at him.

He stared back at them, and they smiled at each other and slowly turned back to the front.

I laughed.

Gianluca leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

"Maybe I should find a better hiding place for my car keys," he said, and Piero and Ignazio cracked up, making me start laughing too. Watching me, Gianluca cracked a smile, though he was trying not to.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I sat on my favorite bench in the dim garden light, dangling my feet and watching the bunnies.

As I sat, a familiar feeling started to creep into my chest. I immediately straightened, uncrossing my legs, my eyes wide.

There was a pounding in my chest, and my heartbeat raced.

My senses heightened, and the quiet was deafening. I couldn't breathe, and my eyes were wide. Panic was pressing at my mind, and the shaking started.

My first impulse was to scream, to run out of there, but I forced myself to sit still.

I desperately tried to breathe, but my body wouldn't comply.

I tried to accept the feelings, as I had been advised, and I sat feeling the horrible pulsing, racing, shaking. I stared blankly ahead of me, and gasped for air.

I felt as if the world was about to end, I was going to die, and I was the only one who knew. The space around me pressed in on me, and I forced myself to sit still, reminding myself that it would all be over in a moment.

I was shaking so violently, and the pulsing hurt.

The screen door slammed next door, and I winced.

_Don't move, don't move. You can handle this. Just let it happen._

I heard Gianluca walking around the house to his front yard, then he walked back. The grass crunching echoed in my mind.

The feeling was unbearable, and I wanted to scream.

My heart was beating so fast.

"Good evening, Naomi!"

I couldn't answer. I wanted to run, but I made myself stay. I reminded myself that everything was going to be okay.

_He'll understand. Just let it happen._

"Naomi?"

I heard him come to the fence.

The painful pounding continued, and I felt as if the world was going to collapse. I closed my eyes as the pain filled me, and I gasped for air.

"Naomi!? Are you okay!?"

He could see me now.

My nails dug into my thighs, and I stared ahead, determined to stay.

He jumped over the gate and rushed to the bench.

"Naomi?"

I couldn't move, and I couldn't look at him. I could only shake and hurt and experience the panic squeezing me.

Gianluca knelt in front of me.

I stared wide-eyed above his head.

"Naomi, are you okay? Please answer me!"

I couldn't speak. He reached out and touched my cheek to get me to look at him.

"Should I get someone? I'll go get someone, okay?"

He stood, but I reached out and grabbed his shirt.

There was no reason for him to get anyone; it'll all be over soon.

He put his hand over mine and knelt before me again.

"Naomi?"

I gasped out, "It's a panic attack. It happens sometimes."

"Oh!" He took my hands. "Look at me, Naomi."

I forced myself to look at him.

He looked strangely calm.

"You're okay, Naomi," he said firmly. "You're fine. Everything's okay."

He rubbed the backs of my hands with his thumbs.

The pulsing increased, and I inhaled sharply.

"You're fine. Nothing's going to happen to you."

I tried to stifle the panic, then reminded myself to let it happen.

My hands were shaking in Gianluca's, and he held them to his chest.

"Naomi, are you listening to me?"

"Yes," I gasped.

"You are fine. Nothing is happening. Just relax."

I let the pulsing and the panic fill me, reminding myself that it would be over soon.

My eyes roamed to above Gianluca's head, and he asked me to look at him again.

I stared into his deep brown eyes and tried to keep breathing.

Next door, the screen door opened and slammed shut, and I winced again at the heightened bang.

"Gianluca?" Piero called. "You've been gone for a while!"

"How long does it take to bring out the trash anyway?" Ignazio called.

"Hush! I'm here!" Gianluca called.

They came to the fence, and then, seeing me, came running over. They knelt beside Gianluca, watching me fearfully.

"What's going on?" Piero asked.

"She's having a panic attack," Gianluca said, never looking away from me.

I looked over at Piero, who looked terrified, but Gianluca instructed me to look back at him.

He said something softly in Spanish to the other boys, and they both took on calm expressions.

He rubbed the back of my hands and reminded me that everything was fine.

The panic overwhelmed me, and I froze.

For a moment, there was absolute chaos.

Then the pulsing began to calm down, and as it died, I tried to breathe slowly, regaining lost oxygen, trying not to gasp. The shaking began to subside, and all the panic flooded out of me at once. I closed my eyes and exhaled in relief, and the three boys all sighed too.

I opened my eyes and smiled weakly at them, feeling pathetic but relieved that it was over. My eyes filled with tears, and I took my hands from Gianluca to wipe them. Piero and Ignazio sat back and smiled in relief, and Gianluca stood and sat next to me on the bench, leaning in to me, his arm around the back of the bench.

I kept breathing, keeping calm.

"How do you feel?" Gianluca asked.

"Drained," I admitted softly.

Gianluca wrapped his arm around my shoulders and welcomed me onto his chest. I fell against him, exhausted.

"That was scary," Piero commented.

"Tell me about it," I muttered, and he smiled sheepishly. "It's the worst feeling in the world!"

"You said it happens sometimes," Gianluca said, holding me firmly to him, an arm around my back and another around my side with his hand holding my head to his chest. "How often is sometimes?"

"Usually about once a week, sometimes more if I'm under a lot of stress."

"Do you know what caused it tonight?" he asked.

"I usually don't, but today it could be the aftermath of the stress of exams."

They were quiet, all watching me, and I shyly looked up at Gianluca.

"So can you tell us what was happening?" Ignazio asked.

"Well," I said, reasoning that it was necessary that I do so, "There's a pulsing in my chest, and my heart races. I can't breathe, and I shake, and…it hurts."

"So what do you do?" Gianluca asked. "When it happens?"

"I try to remind myself that nothing's going to happen to me, and I try to make myself just experience it, which is what I've been instructed to do. Then after, I relax, and "observe that I am okay," to quote my doctor."

"What do you do to relax?" Ignazio asked.

"Tea? Music?" Gianluca asked.

I smiled.

"Actually, I listen to "O Sole Mio." It's soothing."

They all smiled. I moved to sit up, and Gianluca released me.

"But I lost my phone," I said.

They smiled at each other.

Oh…were they…

Gianluca took my hands in his.

He started to sing:

"_Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole._

_ n'aria serena doppo na tempesta!"…_

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe it…

It was so beautiful…

Gianluca grinned to Piero as he sang, and then Piero joined in.

I was smiling in awe, and probably blushing.

The notes they hit were incredible, and they watched each other and me as they harmonized the Italian lyrics.

They paused as Ignazio began to sing, beaming with delight as he hit amazing notes.

They sang together, and it was magical, soothing, wonderful.

"_O Sole Mio! Sta 'nfronte a te! Sta 'nfronte a te!"_

They paused before the final note, and I froze, waiting…

Then they sang it together, and my hands went over my mouth.

They finished, and smiled and nodded as the last wondrous note hung in the night.

They looked at me, waiting for me to say something.

I clasped my hands together to my chest.

"Thank you, guys! That was…absolutely amazing!"

"Do you feel better now?" Ignazio asked hopefully, cheerfully.

I nodded, and they all looked relieved.

Piero stood, and the others did the same.

"Goodnight, Naomi," Ignazio said. He stepped forward and took my hand, kissing it. Piero stepped forward to kiss my other hand. Gianluca followed both of them.

"You guys are so amazing! Thank you so much!" I gushed, and they nodded and smiled.

Then they all started walking away, through the gate and to their homes. Gianluca did not go inside. He stood on the porch, watching as Piero and Ignazio disappeared into their houses.

I stayed sitting on the bench, feeling exhausted, and watched Gianluca, who turned back to me.

He jogged through the gate and into my yard.

"Finally, they're gone!" he said, coming up to the bench.

"What?" I smiled and watched, confused.

He sat next to me…right next to me…

His arm went around the back of the bench and around my shoulders. He gently pulled me to him, giving me time to resist. With his other hand, he tilted up my chin and then he leaned forward to kiss me. He kissed so sweetly and tenderly, and it made sense, Italians being all romantic and such.

He slowly pulled back and waited for my reaction. A smile spread across my cheeks, and he smiled a little, watching me.

Then he stood, and I wished he wasn't leaving.

He took my hand again and raised it slowly to his lips, kissing it, and I felt very warm inside.

"Get some rest, okay?" he asked, releasing my hand.

I nodded, and he turned and began to walk back to his house. I watched him go, and when he stopped on the porch to look back at me, I turned and went inside, smiling with delight.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I sat high in a tree, dangling my legs and listening to the early sounds of nature as I read The Old Man and the Sea.

I wanted to read some classics before I started school, but this book was pretty boring. As I read, my mind wandered to other things, mainly Gianluca. I reflected on our trip to the lake, his encouraging words during my attack, his voice, his gentle touch…and his kiss.

My thoughts wandered to his accent, and then to Italy. I wondered about what it was like there. There's got to be more to it than the cuisine that tends to come to people's minds.

I wanted to know about Italy. What did it look like? What did the land look like? What would it be like to go for a walk in Italy? What things would I see? What would I hear?

I tried to picture it, and didn't know what to think of.

I closed the book and climbed down from the tree, jumping down the last few feet, scaring off several forest animals resting nearby.

I tucked the book into my backpack and rode off on my bike to find Gianluca.

To my surprise, I found him sitting on the bench in the garden with my mother. They were talking, and my mother seemed deeply interested in whatever he was saying. She turned to smile at me as I approached.

"Hello, sweetheart. I've just met the boy you've told me about."

"I see," I said, picking up my bike in the bushes.

"He is very interesting," she said, "and very intelligent."

Gianluca nodded his thanks and then smiled at me.

"Gianluca, will you go for a walk with me?" I asked, taking off my backpack.

"Absolutely," he said. "Now?"

I checked my mother's watch.

"Tell you what," I said, "How about I put together a picnic for us and then we can go?"

"Wow!" he said, "You cook?"

I laughed.

"If you count peanut butter and jelly as cooking," I said.

"I'll help you make it a little better than that," my mother offered, and I nodded.

"I'll come get you in maybe twenty minutes?" I said.

He nodded, and my mother and I went inside.

My mom heated up some leftover chicken and found some Italian bread to put it on.

"Very fitting," I joked, and she laughed.

I searched for fruit and came up with strawberries. My mom cut us pieces of pie while I attempted to make lemonade, which came out incredibly sour. My mom added water and a large pile of sugar as she laughed at my scrunched up face from tasting it.

I packed the food in the kind of basket you would see in movies and found a checkered blanket to match.

Gianluca insisted we take his car to wherever we were going instead of riding our bikes.

"You don't want to work for your food?" I teased.

"That's right," he said, spinning his keys around his finger as we climbed into the car.

His car smelled like him, and I inhaled deeply, smiling, resting the basket on my lap.

We decided to go back to the lake, and I laid out the blanket up close to the water.

As we started to eat, I leaned back on my arms and asked, "Where are you from, again? Abruzzo?"

"Yes, Abruzzo," he said, the word sounding beautiful and foreign in his mouth.

"Can you tell me about it? Please?" I begged.

He nodded.

"It is absolutely beautiful," he said in his wonderful accent.

I leaned on my arm, listening.

"There are mountains, the Apennines, and there are also beaches, because of the Adriatic Sea."

"Mountains _and _beaches!? No fair!"

He laughed.

"Yes, it is breathtaking! There is a lot of wildlife and animals as well, like deer, wolves, foxes, wild cats, boars…"

He listed them off of his fingers.

"Wow," I breathed, picturing all the animals.

"…and snakes."

I made a face. "Well," I supposed, "They've gotta live somewhere…"

He laughed.

"The towns are sort of medieval-styled. They're very popular among the tourists."

"Are there many tourists?"

"Not too many. Mostly there's just wildlife."

"Wow!" I said, "I'm a big fan of wildlife."

He laughed.

"I know," he said, gesturing around us.

"What else?" I asked, begging for more.

"Well…there is a lot of good wine, because there are grapes growing everywhere…They have many natural reserves…the food is fantastic…and…it's just a wonderful place."

I smiled, imagining rolling hills, trees, mountains, beaches, wild grapes…there was so much to dream about!

"It sounds…amazing!" I said.

"It is, and I am glad to call it my home."

"When was the last time you went there?" I asked.

"It's been a while," he admitted solemnly.

I nodded.

"So now I have some things to ask you about," he said.

"Go for it," I said, reaching for the strawberries.

"How often do you go out in nature like this? You told me whenever you can, but how often is that?"

"Almost every day," I said. "I love it so much! I find the most amazing things…trees hundreds of years old, beautiful animals and flowers, quiet streams and secret hiding places. It's calm and beautiful out here, and I feel so… at peace."

He smiled and nodded, and I wondered if I was talking too much. I tend to gush.

"Who's your favorite band?"

"Well," I said, "There's this group called _Il Volo_…"

He laughed.

"Thank you," he said finally, returning to his serious expression.

"For liking _Il Volo_? The pleasure is all mine, Gianluca!"

He moved onto the next question, my favorite song.

I thoughtfully tapped my chin with my finger.

"Well, I love "O Sole Mio," but I think maybe my current favorite is "Constantemente Mia."

"That's a good one," he said. "The one we sang with Belinda."

"Yep," I said. "But what does it mean?"

"We actually have an English version out. The lyrics are "I bring you to my senses," "he said.

"Oh," I said. "Lovely! I'll have to look it up. So how's the songwriting going?"

"We are working on the song about Italy, but we have no more ideas at the moment. We need some inspiration!"

"I get my inspiration for my writings from nature, and from other books. Maybe you could try the same?"

"Perhaps," he said, shrugging, "I'll find my inspiration somewhere."

I smiled.

As we finished up with lunch, I stood and went to wade in the water.

Little minnows tickled my toes, and my toes sank into the gooey mud. Gianluca put the remains of our picnic in the basket and came to join me, taking off his shoes as he came.

He came up beside me and slipped his hand into mine.

I looked up at him, into those deep brown eyes. He leaned toward me and I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him.

After a moment I turned and splashed out of the water and dried my feet on the blanket, then left my shoes off.

He followed me and sat on blanket, his legs stretched out in front of him, watching me.

I went to sit next to him, and we watched little fish jump in the lake.

I noticed the fawn and its mother approaching at the other side of the lake.

I nudged him, and pointed. He glanced over and nodded.

I watched them cautiously come to the water to drink.

"Beauty at its finest, huh?" I whispered.

"No," he whispered back.

"No?"

"Beauty at its finest…that's you."

I blushed.

"Oh, Gianluca!"

His arm went around my shoulders and he pulled me to his lips.

Nature is always unpredictable and moving, swaying, following new rhythms. When I disappear into it, I must be ready to roll with its changing rhythms.

Gianluca was different.

His hold was firm, steady, and safe. Unmoving, ready to hold me until I pulled away. So I didn't. I stayed close to him, taking in his lips, his scent…

Eventually I pulled back to look him over, admiring his thick, dark hair and eyes, his crooked smile, slightly pointed ears, and handsome jaw line.

He smiled crookedly at me, and then stood without a word, and I did the same. We folded the blanket and he carried the basket.

I reached for my shoes and carried them and the blanket to his car.

"It was a great picnic," he said. "Thank you, and thank your mother also for me, okay?"

"Yes, okay," I said.

That night, I lay in my bed, scrolling through breathtaking pictures of Abruzzo on my phone, which I had found earlier in the microwave.

My mother came in holding clean laundry, which she dropped on my desk chair.

"Mom, I'm moving," I said.

"Oh, really? Where to?"

I held out the phone, and she took it.

"Wow, take me with you! Where is this?"

"Abruzzo, in Italy.

"Oh, where Gianluca is from?"  
"Yes."

She handed the phone back to me, and I clicked it off and put it on the headboard.

"Mom, someday I'm going to go there."

She came over and kissed my cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I didn't see Gianluca the next day, or the next, but I thought about him all the time and dreamed about him, too. I wanted to see him again and kiss him and talk with him.

The first day that I didn't see him, I found and envelope on my bench, and in it a card that read, "Dearest Naomi, Il Volo is being interviewed on Ellen, so we must fly there and back and stay overnight. I'll see you when we return. –Gianluca Ginoble."

I thought it was funny how he signed his last name too. How many Gianlucas did he think I knew?

So Piero and Ignazio were gone too.

I spent my time trying to finish reading my book, jotting down ideas for books to write, and of course, disappearing into nature.

After those two days, I went out and saw Gianluca's shoes on the back steps, but the sun was just rising, so I didn't knock or anything.

But I did leave an envelope on the back porch, like he had done for me. It felt appropriate.

"Gianluca, I'll probably be down at the lake if you want to find me. I missed you! - Naomi."

I biked to the lake and climbed a tall tree, swinging my legs and throwing stones into the water to see the ripples from above.

Eventually I heard footsteps, and I saw Gianluca approaching.

I sat quietly, watching him.

He saw my bike in the shrubs and went to the edge of the water, looking around for me.

He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, and I could see he was fingering something in his pocket.

"Gianluca!" I called.

"Naomi!" he said, the familiar accent sounding wonderful to my ears. He looked up at me, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Care to come down?"

I swung my legs onto another branch and carefully climbed down.

"Be careful!" he called, walking up to the base of the tree.

I bounded up to him and he opened his arms to hug me.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and he held me in his firm, unmoving grasp.

I pulled away and looked up at him eagerly.

He leaned forward and kissed me, his arms going around my waist.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

"I have to talk to you about something," he said.

Uh-oh.

"Something bad?"

"No, something good."

"Okay."

We moved away from the lake to a grassy area and sat, me crossed-legged, and he stretched out, leaning back on his arms.

"You know that Il Volo is somewhat well-known, right?"

"Well _that's_ an understatement!" I said, "But yes, I know what you're talking about."

"So you can imagine that we make a pretty good amount of money, and we don't really need all that we make."

"I guess so," I said.

"We save most of it, and we give some to charity, but sometimes we like to spend it on people. And sometimes those people feel that they are unworthy of our money, but it's something we want to do, see?"

I nodded, wondering where this was going.

He pulled his legs in to sit cross-legged, and leaned in toward me.

"So here's the thing," he said, and I leaned in too, as if he was telling me a secret.

"I've already told you that it's been a while since any of the boys and I have been to Italy."

I nodded.

"My parents and I have been planning a trip to spend two weeks in Abruzzo, and when Piero and Ignazio's families found out, they started planning to go with us. My family will stay in our original home, and their families are going to rent out the neighboring houses. That way we can be together for the two weeks to work on writing music, and do concerts and interviews if we wanted to while we were there. They won't be in their hometowns, but it's still Italy, and they're pleased with that. All of our families will be there together, with the exception of my brother, who's doing a project in London."

I was quiet.

"So you're leaving for two whole weeks?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

He took my hands, and I looked up at him.

"I've been having such a great time with you, Naomi, and I don't want to be away from you for two weeks."

"I don't want to be away from you either!"

I somberly leaned forward and kissed him.

He smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out two pieces of paper, which he dropped into my lap.

"Do you know what these are?" he asked.

I held them in my hand and read the print on them.

I looked up at Gianluca, who was intently watching me.

"Your plane tickets." I said.

"No."

He reached out and cupped his hand under mine, pushing my fingers around the tickets. He smiled, watching me.

"_Your_ plane tickets."

My other hand went over my mouth as I gasped.

"Gianluca!?"

He smiled and leaned back on his arms.

"You want me to go to Italy with you!?"

"Yes!"

I clasped the tickets to my chest, shaking with excitement.

"Oh, thank you, Gianluca! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He was smiling, pleased with my reaction.

I surprised him then by jumping onto him, knocking him over.

He laughed and his arms went around my back.

"So I'm going to see the mountains, and the beaches, and the..."

"Yes!" he said, "You're going to see it all!"

I kissed him, my hair spilling over his face, but then pushed back, making him let go of me.

I sat up next to him, and he pushed himself up, watching me.

"But what about my mom?" I asked.

"There's two tickets," he explained, "She's coming too!"

"But I don't know if she'll want to go, and if she'll let me go."

"Actually, I talked to her this morning…"

He paused for dramatic effect.

"And? Come on, Gianluca, you're teasing me!"

He laughed.

"And you're going to Abruzzo!"

I shrieked and jumped onto him again, knocking him over.

He laughed and his arms went around my back again.

"What did she say?" I asked, my hands on his chest, "Specifically?"

"She said it sounds like fun, and she'll be with you, so it's not like you're going alone. She said she'd love to see Italy, and I seem like a very respectful boy, and she knows Italy will be inspiring for your writing, and she'd glad you can have a senior trip…"

"This is going to be amazing, Gianluca!" I gushed. "I can't wait!"

"Me neither!" he said. "You and your mother will stay in my family's home. We have two guest bedrooms now that we've converted the office into one."

"I'll take the smaller one," I said, "I'm probably not going to be spending much time in there."

"Okay," he said, smiling crookedly.

"Thank you so much Gianluca!"

I kissed him, shaking with excitement, lying on his chest, my curls falling over his cheeks. His hands were firmly around my back, unwilling to let me go.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

We left very early on a Saturday morning, and when I say early, I mean four A.M.

I lugged my suitcase to the front door and made myself coffee instead of tea for once, going outside to say good bye to my garden and to the bunnies. My friends had agreed to come over and keep up with the garden for me.

I put on sweatpants and a T-shirt, wanting to be comfortable as I planned on sleeping, or trying to sleep, on the plane. I'm not a fan of small, cramped spaces, and I was hoping it wouldn't trigger a panic attack.

I warned Gianluca about this when he and his parents came over with their suitcases.

"That's fine," he said, kissing my cheek. "You'll be surrounded by us and our families. There's so need to worry, alright?"

I nodded.

We took taxis to the airport, and after waiting for what felt like forever, we were allowed to board the plane.

Gianluca insisted on sitting next to me, and my mother sat on the other side of me, slipping her headphones on and opening a magazine.

Piero's family were in the seats in front of us, and Ignazio's were behind us, with Gianluca's parents behind them.

When we took off, I sat silently, telling myself it was okay to have a panic attack. There were so many people, though, and it was loud, and the ground was unsteady. I put my hands over my ears and closed my eyes.

Gianluca touched my arm gently and I let him take my hands.

"You're okay," he murmured. "Try to sleep, okay? You're fine."

My mother nodded at me, taking out an earbud.

"Listen to him," she said.

I took out The Old Man and the Sea and leaned my head on Gianluca's shoulder.

I focused on the words of the book, and Gianluca leaning his head on mine. Eventually I did fall asleep.

When I woke, Gianluca and Piero were talking softly.

"Good morning," Gianluca said to me as I rubbed my eyes.

I smiled sleepily, and he kissed my cheek.

"We're thinking about doing a concert in Abruzzo, to show our fellow Italians what we've been up to," Gianluca said.

"What do you think?" Piero asked, from the seat in front of me.

"It sounds like fun!" I said. "You should do it!"

They started working on details, and I turned around to Ignazio, who was writing something down on a notepad.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I am playing around with some lyrics for our song about Italy," he said.

"Can I see?"

He handed me the notepad.

I made a face.

"Aw, they're in Italian!"

He laughed.

"Not everyone speaks English, Naomi."

I stuck out my tongue, and Gianluca reached back and took the notepad from me. I turned to face front in my seat.

"Look," he said, putting his arm around my shoulder and drawing me in to him.

He pointed to each word with his finger and told me what they meant, like I was a little child just learning to read.

The lyrics spoke about the beauty of Italy, and they were good lyrics. I also had to admit that they sounded better in Italian.

"They're good," I said, handing the pad back to Ignazio.

"Thanks," he said, smiling.

"We can work on the music for it when we get there," Gianluca said to him.

Ignazio nodded and went back to writing.

"So," Piero asked me. "What are you going to do first in Italy?"

My mom put her hand on my knee, surprising me.

"The first thing she's going to do is unpack her suitcase and save her belongings," she said.

"Mooooommm," I pleaded.

"Naooommmiiii," she said back.

"Fine," I said, and Piero and Gianluca laughed.

"And Naomi, the rule that you have to be home before dark still applies in Italy, got it?"

"Okay…" I said, pouting.

My mom smiled and put her headphones back in.

We landed at the AbruzzoInternationalAirport and took taxis to our houses.

I stared longingly at the mountains in the distance as we rode, and when we arrived I lugged my suitcase out of the trunk, up the porch steps, and into the house.

Piero and Ignazio and their families went to the houses next door that they were renting, and Gianluca took my suitcase from me and held it as if it wasn't heavy at all. He led me up the stairs and to my bedroom.

It was fairly small, but nice. The theme was a deep, romantic purple. There was a large bed with a purple bedspread, a desk pushed against the wall, and a short, wide dresser with a lamp and a bunch of roses on top.

The floor was wood, with a small grapevine-themed rug beside the bed, and long purple curtains hung from the windows.

"It's very nice," I said. "I like it!"

Gianluca put down my suitcase and took my hand.

"Come and look out the window," he encouraged, pulling a string to move the blinds up.

"Woah!" I said. "What a view!"

The mountains looked huge and majestic from here, and a longing to explore overcame me. I clasped my hands excitedly to my chest.

"Yes," he said, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Oh, definitely!" I said.

"I'm going to unpack my suitcase," he said, kissing my cheek and turning to go.

My mom passed the room, lugging her suitcase with her.

"Let me help, Ms. Kendall!" Gianluca said, going to take it from her.

"Thank you, Gianluca. How thoughtful!" she said, then pointed at me. "Unpack."

"I'm going, I'm going…"

I dragged it over to the bed and unzipped it.

I threw all the clothes into the drawers, not taking the time to fold anything.

I was in Italy, and desperate to go out and explore!

I stacked my books on the desk and threw my beauty and hair products on the bed. I changed into some shorts and then pushed the suitcase into a corner. I ran out the room and down the stairs, jumping down the last few.

My mom was now in the kitchen, talking with Gianluca's mother.

"Did you unpack!?" she called as I ran by.

"Yes!" I shouted, running out the door.

"Be careful!" she called.

It was just past lunchtime, and I set out on foot to explore. I walked for miles, astounded at the sights Italy offered to me. I walked through flat fields with grazing flocks of sheep, wandered through a forest with fox and deer hiding behind trees. I found grapevines and beautiful orchids growing among the wildlife. I reached a rocky beach where tourists lounged on the sand. I went up close to the rocky base of the mountains, and then went into a little marketplace along a cobbled street. Venders sold pastas and different meats, and people offered me beautifully packaged wines, but I couldn't speak to anyone because I only spoke English. I listened to all the Italian words being exchanged around me, and pressed my face against the window of a bakery, smelling the baking bread. I admired the medieval-looking buildings and huge wooden doors. I followed a huge rocky wall back onto the path I had started out on, and walked back to Gianluca's home.

It was getting pretty dark, and as I approached, breathless with excitement, I saw the three boys in front of the Ginoble house, playing soccer together.

When Gianluca saw me coming, he stopped the ball with his foot and folded his arms, shaking his head.

"Hi Gianluca!" I called happily, running to meet him.

"Look at you!" he said, shaking his head, "I bring you to Italy and you disappear for- how long was it, Piero?"

Piero checked his watch.

"Six hours," he said.

"Six hours!" Gianluca playfully scolded.

I went up to him and gave him a quick kiss, and he smiled and dropped his chastening act.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"The question is where did I not go!" I said, going to stand on the porch.

Gianluca followed me.

"I went to the beach, and to the base of the mountains, and I went through a forest, and some fields, and to a marketplace…"

"Sounds like you were trying to absorb all of Abruzzo at once," Ignazio commented.

"Yeah, pretty much!" I said. "It was…magical!"

"But six hours?" Piero asked. "Aren't you tired?"

"Oh, I'm exhausted!" I said cheerily, and he laughed. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you guys later."

"Dinner's at eight," Gianluca said, "My mom's cooking. And the towels are under the sink."

I nodded and went inside and upstairs.

I decided not to put on my pajamas until after dinner, so I slipped on a long-sleeved royal blue shirt and green shorts, my favorite colors. I went to my bedroom and sat on the bed to dry my hair.

My mom came in and put her hands on her hips.

"I looked in the drawers," she said.

I smiled sheepishly.

"I wanted to explore."

"And explore you did! Gosh, Naomi, six hours!?"

I nodded, smiling.

"Fold the clothes," she said.

I wrapped the towel around my head and went about doing so.

Afterwards, I went downstairs to the kitchen, where was cooking some kind of meat.

I slid into a chair at the bar next to my mother.

"Hi, ."

"Hello, dear."

"What are you making?"

"I'm making roast duck, a pretty popular dish here."

"I've never tried duck before."

"Well, then, I hope you will like it."

"I'm sure I will. Gianluca told me on the plane that you're a great cook."

She smiled at me.

"Gianluca is very sweet."

I nodded, and looked out at the three guys, who were now sitting on the porch. It looked like they were singing. Ignazio was holding the notepad.

I went right up to the door to listen.

As always, it was beautiful.

Not wanting to disturb them, I sat in front of the door.

It might have looked a little awkward, but I was content to sit and listen to them.

"Alright!" said after a few minutes. "The duck is finished!"

I stood.

"Will you alert the boys?" she asked me.

I nodded and opened the door.

"Guys!" I said, and they all turned to look at me. "The food's ready!"

They all jumped up excitedly and Piero and Ignazio went to get their families.

I sat between Gianluca and Ignazio, with Piero at the end of the table. Our families gathered at the table and started chatting with everyone else.

The three boys told me stories of Italy and stories from their tours. They were hilarious together, and they kept me and sometimes the whole table laughing.

The food was delicious! Mrs. Ginoble really was an amazing cook, and I made sure to tell her so.

At the end of the meal, I hugged Piero and Ignazio goodnight, and after, of course, kissing my hands, they and their families left. My mother helped with the dishes, and Gianluca watched T.V with his father on the sofa. I went upstairs and changed into my pajamas, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

I yawned and stretched, tired out from my first afternoon in Abruzzo. I turned on the lamp and retrieved my book from the stack on the desk. I was almost finished with it, and I pulled back the covers and slipped my feet under.

I opened the book and began to read.

The bedroom door opened, and so did my eyes.

It took a second for me to remember where I was.

The book was on the floor, and I was lying on my arm, the covers up to my waist.

The lamp was still on.

Gianluca entered, and then paused when he saw me. He wore a plain white T-shirt and black basketball shorts, and I smiled groggily at him, wondering what time it was.

"Sorry," he whispered, "did I wake you?"

"It's okay," I half-whispered, half-said.

The air conditioner was making a comforting whooshing sound, and I yawned.

Gianluca came over to the bed and stooped to pick up the book off the floor.

The Old Man and the Sea, he read, and then placed it on the headboard.

He knelt next to the bed, his face close to mine.

"I just came to tell you good-night," he said softly.

I propped myself up on my arm.

"Well, tell me."

He leaned forward and his lips met mine. I took in his scent as he kissed me. His necklace of the flying eagle fell out of his T-shirt and rested against my chest.

His lips still touched to mine, he reached for the covers and pulled them up to my shoulders.

He pulled back and stood up, walking over to the desk where the lamp was. He reached for the string, and turned to smile crookedly at me before pulling it. He quietly shut the door on the way out.

Oh, he was so amazing…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

***Gianluca's point of view**

I heard someone going down the stairs.

I rubbed my face with my hands.

What time was it? I looked over at the clock. It was seven A.M.

Who gets up at seven A.M.?  
I smiled to myself, shaking my head.

Naomi. Of course, Naomi.

I could hear her walking around downstairs, getting breakfast. Then I heard her go into the garage.

I sat up.

What was she doing?

After a pause, I heard the garage door opening.

Where was she going?

I jumped out of bed and pulled on my jeans. I hurried downstairs and went to the garage to discover that my bike was missing.

I ran a hand through my hair and went outside. I could see her coasting down the dirt path in the distance, her brown curls flying.

I shook my head. I should have known she'd want to go exploring.

I had discovered the day before that I didn't really want her to be alone in Italy. It made me a little uneasy. I went to the kitchen to grab the keys to the rental car.

There was a note on the counter.

_"Going to the beach, then I'll probably go exploring elsewhere –Naomi."_

I put a note next to it.

_"Going to find Naomi. –Gianluca." _

I grabbed some fruit out of the bowl on the counter and went to the car.

The beach was almost deserted, a rare sight. But then again, how many people wake up at seven to go to the beach? It's not like the beach ever gets up and leaves.

There was an elderly couple going for a walk, a man there with two young children, and a woman tanning. There was also a beautiful girl with brown curls and sweet brown eyes sitting cross legged on a rock, the breeze from the sea making her pull her flimsy white wrap more tightly around her.

I watched her smile slightly and close her eyes as she inhaled deeply.

I went up and sat behind her on the rock, my legs on either side of her, gently wrapping my arms around her middle. She stiffened at first, then realized it was me and leaned back, relaxing against me.

I rested my chin on her head.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" I asked.

"I like to get up early, remember?"

"No kidding."

She laughed a little.

"I couldn't help it! Abruzzo is just so…magical!"

"I know what you mean."

We were quiet for a while, listening to the waves and the little kids laughing.

"Are you going to do that concert you and Piero were talking about?" she asked.

"Yes. I made some phone calls yesterday while you were out. We're doing it tomorrow. The owner of the theatre is letting Il Volo perform there for free, his way of welcoming us back home to Italy!"

"That's nice," she said. "I can't wait!"

I was quiet for a moment, then I asked, "Where did you want to explore?"

"I don't know yet. I'll just ride around and see- oh yeah, that reminds me, I borrowed your bike."

I smiled.

"I noticed. I'm coming with you…to explore. You shouldn't be alone in Italy."

"I was alone for six hours yesterday."

"That doesn't mean I didn't look for you."

She turned to look at me, smiling.

"You looked for me?" she asked softly.

"Yes, but then your mom called me and told me that you always disappear like that, and that you'd return after a few hours. She says she doesn't like it, but she doesn't think she'd be able to stop you if she tied you to the house."

"That's right!" she said, nodding approvingly.

"I still looked for you though, but I couldn't find you, so I eventually went back."

"Don't worry about me, Gianluca, okay?"

"You saying that doesn't help."

She turned back to the ocean and I pulled her tightly to me.

"I do this everyday," she told me, "And I always end up okay. I've always been able to get out of bad situations, and I have my phone…well, _usually. _I tend to lose things."

"Me too," I said. "And I don't want to lose _you._"

She patted my knee.

"Well, I always know where I am. And you can't follow me every time I leave the house, you know."

"Try me."

She pulled away from me and turned around to sit facing me.

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek, then, quick as a flash; she leapt off the rock and was running away.

"Hey!"

I clambered down and chased her across the beach and into a forest. I raced after her, dodging trees, but eventually lost sight of her.

I turned around and around, searching.

I cupped my hands to my mouth.

"NAOMI!?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and spun around.

I reached forward and wrapped my arms around her back before she could run off again.

She laughed, and I pulled her close to my chest to kiss her.

I released her when she pulled back, and she slipped her hands into mine.

"Come with me today. I want to see the city."

I nodded.

"Leave the car here. Let's walk."

"Fine," I said, and after putting the bike into the trunk, I began to lead her to the marketplace.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

***Naomi's Point Of View**

I held the loaf of fresh bread in my hand as I entered the kitchen, my other hand in Gianluca's.

I smiled at our mothers, who were sitting on the couch together flipping through a catalog.

"Gianluca bought me some bread!" I said, placing it on the counter.

"How could I not?" Gianluca asked. "If you could only see the way you looked pressing your face against the window."

I laughed, and our moms stood up.

"We're going shopping together, okay?" said, linking arms with my mom. "Your dad went to visit some friends. Gianluca, and you and your friends should practice some before the concert tomorrow."

"Right," Gianluca said. "Can you hand out flyers?"

"Of course, darling," she said, taking the stack he handed her.

They left, and I took a seat at the counter, tearing pieces off the warm loaf and tasting them.

Gianluca called Piero and Ignazio, and they arrived after a few minutes, Ignazio holding two white boxes.

"Naomi!" he said. "I thought you might like to try this."

He came over and placed the boxes in front of me, and I cautiously opened them

"What are they?" I asked.

"This is called _Parrozzo_. It's a cake-like thing with almonds and chocolate."

I repeated the word, and he nodded.

"And this is _Torrone Nurzia_, which is chocolate nougat."

"Thank you, Ignazio!" I said, reaching out to hug him.

"No problem." He went over to where Gianluca was standing and put his arm around his shoulder. "I thought Gianluca might be slacking in showing you the food of Italy."

"Hey, this is only the second day we're in Abruzzo! I'm trying to show her things a bit at a time."

"Yeah, I think I spoiled that when we got here by exploring for six hours," I commented, and Ignazio laughed.

"Hey, are we going to practice or what?" Piero said.

"Sure," Gianluca said. "Naomi, will you be our audience?"

"I'd love to!" I said, getting exited.

They went about pushing furniture aside.

"We need room to move around," Piero explained, pushing the coffee table into the kitchen.

He stood and offered his hand to me. I took it, and grabbed the box of Parrozzo with my other hand.

Gianluca and Ignazio shoved the couch against the wall, and Piero led me to it.

I sat cross-legged, the box of sweets in my lap.

The boys went to stand against the wall.

"So…what needs work?" Ignazio said.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

I laughed.

"I can see this is going to be extremely productive," I said, and they smiled.

"Let's just sing some things and make sure we're…in sync?" Piero asked.

Gianluca nodded.

"Any requests, Naomi?"

I smiled.

" "This Time!" "

Gianluca started, "_After all the empty stars, and beautiful illusions, how can I be sure you're even here_? _Maybe I'm too cynical to fall until it's proven, or maybe you're my year after year._"

After his part came Ignazio's turn.

_"Tell me you're in, tell me I'm home, Promise you'll stay…and don't let me go!"_

Angels. They have the most beautiful voices…

I beamed in excitement as Gianluca came over to kneel in front of me, taking my hands. I blushed and smiled, and he kissed my cheek.

He released my hands and stepped back to stand with the other boys.

After "This Time", they sang "Il Mondo", "El reloj", and "O Sole Mio."

Then Piero flopped on the couch next to me.

"Okay, that can be enough," he said, taking a Parrozzo from the box.

"Lazy, lazy!" Ignazio teased, but he sat on the other side of me and took one also.

"You guys are so amazing!" I gushed.

"Hey, guys!" Gianluca said, crossing his arms. "You're both taking up all the space next to Naomi!"

I blushed.

"Oh, your girl, eh?" Ignazio teased, smiling at me.

Gianluca leaned forward and slipped a hand under my legs and one behind my back, pulling me up off the couch.

"Hey!" I said.

He turned and sat with me on his lap, smiling.

I playfully glared at him.

"I suppose you want a Parrozzo too?"

He opened his mouth, and I smiled and gave him one.

"You know what this would go well with?" Piero asked.

"What?" Ignazio asked.

"The nougat!"

He got up to get it, and Ignazio did as well, and they raced each other.

I got off of Gianluca's lap to watch, and we laughed as Piero grabbed hold of the box and Ignazio tried to wrestle it away from him.

The box broke and nougats flew into the air.

Piero and Ignazio desperately grabbed for them, shoving each other, and were able to save most of them.

I shook my head, laughing.

"What, are we entertaining you, Naomi?" Ignazio teased.

"Yes!"

Silly boys…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

***Gianluca's point of view**

It was past ten, and I couldn't find Naomi anywhere.

I checked in all the bedrooms, and looked around outside, and I was getting nervous.

My mother and were sitting together at the bar.

"Have either of you seen Naomi?" I asked them.

My mother turned worriedly to .

"Have you been looking for her?" she asked me.

"Yes, and I can't find her anywhere!"

"Have you checked the roof?"

"The roof!?" I was bewildered. "Why would I have checked the roof?"

"Well, sometimes when she has a panic attack, she likes to sit on the roof. I guess it makes her feel…united with nature, you know?"

"Oh!" I said, my worrying intensifying. "I'll go check."

"Just give her a few minutes to calm down, and then check on her."

I nodded, and then turned to sprint up the stairs.

In her room, I sat on the unmade bed, forcing myself to wait for what felt like forever. I ran a hand nervously through my hair and rubbed my hands in nervous circles over my jeans, imagining Naomi shaking and crying on the roof, alone.

That night in her yard when she was having a panic attack was terrifying. It might be selfish of me to think so, because she was the one with the actual attack, but it was such a scary thing. But I will play calm, if it will help her.

I went to the window and pushed it open the rest of the way. I gripped the frame, pulling myself through it. I twisted and gripped the roof, using the frame as a step to hoist myself up.

And there she was…sitting cross-legged at the other end of the roof, crying, gasping, her curls rustling in the Abruzzo breeze.

She glanced over at me, and rubbed her eyes.

I crawled over to her and sat next to her, taking her hands in mine.

She looked up at me, her eyes red, her lip trembling.

"Is it over?" I whispered.

She nodded.

I brought her hands gently to my lips and kissed them.

Then I moved to sit behind her as I had done on the beach, wrapping my arms around her middle and pulling her to my chest.

She leaned back against me and tucked her head under my chin. She was shaking a little, and every once in a while she gasped for breath. I held her firmly and carefully wiped the tears that ran down her cheeks with my thumb.

I could tell she was exhausted by the way she leaned against me.

"Naomi, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what does a panic attack feel like? Not physically, I mean."

She was quiet for a moment and I thought she wasn't going to answer, but then she said, "It feels like the world is about to collapse, and I'm the only one who knows. It's terrifying…"

She looked up at me and I took the opportunity to gently kiss her.

"Why the roof?" I asked.

"I love the outdoors, and I don't usually have panic attacks when I'm out exploring. Being on the roof just makes me feel…connected with nature."

A gentle summer breeze blew over us, and I think I understood what she meant.

"So what can I do, Naomi? To help you when you have panic attacks?"

She looked up at me and kissed me.

"This. Just hold me and remind me that I'm okay."

The shaking was slowing, and she seemed to be breathing easily.

I smiled a little.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yes, just…tired."

"Do you want to go in?"

"Not yet. I need to rest a little to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It can happen back to back?"

"Unfortunately."

I remembered that she likes to listen to Il Volo to relax after her attacks, and I decided that I'd have to do.

"Have you listened to the English version of

"Constantemente Mia" yet?"

"No, not yet," she said, "I lost my phone again."

I took a deep breath, then began to sing, "_Here alone… I wish you were here to hold. Time is moving much too slow without you. When it gets too hard, you're never too far. I bring you to my senses, senses. I see you when I close my eyes. I feel you on my fingertips; I taste you on my lips…"_

She looked up at me and watched me sing for a while, then lay back against me, listening…

When I finished, she got up and turned to kneel in front of me. She reached out and placed her hands gently on my jaw line, her thumbs on my neck, and brought her forehead to touch mine.

I couldn't breathe, transfixed by her delicate touch and her beauty.

She moved my face upward to kiss me.

I closed my eyes and reached out my hands to touch her back, experiencing the sensation of her lips on mine.

My heart sang, and she pulled back, smiling at me, still holding my face.

The breeze rustled her hair, and she shivered.

"Let's go in," she said softly, and I let go of her.

I watched her cautiously stand and walk over to where the open window was. I lingered on the roof for a moment, smiling at Abruzzo laid out before me, the last words of my song seeming to hover in the air.

Then I got up and followed Naomi inside.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

***Naomi's Point of View**

The next morning I got up early again, catching the sun almost fully risen.

After a quick breakfast, I stepped outside to go for a walk. I wasn't really planning on exploring today, just going out to be alive in nature.

After only a few steps, the door behind me opened and closed, and Gianluca was slipping his hand into mine.

"Go back to bed, Gianluca," I said. "You have a concert later."

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "I want to be with you."

We set out, quietly walking along, going off the path and into a field of wildflowers, then eventually into a quiet forest.

We returned to the house before lunch to get ready for the concert, and I took a quick shower and put on a red dress at my mom's request- she loved me in red. I took some time to put on mascara and lip gloss, and I even put on some light pink eye shadow to enhance my brown eyes.

I put on black heels and carefully went down the steps, holding onto the banister. Gianluca greeted me at the bottom by offering me his arm and looking me over approvingly. I wrapped my hand around his bicep and smiled at him.

He was wearing a suit; as in white collared shirt, black suit-coat, and a black tie.

"You look very beautiful, Naomi," he said as he leaned toward me to kiss my cheek.

"You look very handsome, Gianluca," I said. "I love it when guys wear suits!"

"The boys and I always wear suits for concerts," he said, smoothing his coat. "We're…classy."

I giggled.

We ate a quick lunch with Piero and Ignazio's families in the Ginoble house, then drove to the theatre. We arrived early, so that the boys could make sure everything was ready and all their equipment was working properly.

Gianluca took me backstage with him, and I followed him around as he checked and rechecked microphones and sound systems.

People were starting to arrive, and the theatre was getting crowded. Ignazio set a bouquet of red roses on a table backstage. I remembered the roses that they had handed out during the Il Volo PBS concert.

Gianluca took my hand.

"Don't worry," he whispered in my ear, "I'll go give you one during the show."

I smiled.

"Thank you, Gianluca."

People were taking their seats, and I left Gianluca and went to find my seat next to my mother, in the midsection of the theatre.

When the three boys eventually walked out onto the stage, the audience went wild, clapping and cheering.

Ignazio said something in Italian, and the crowd laughed and kept clapping.

The boys began to speak in rapid Italian and Mrs. Ginoble told my mom and me that they were acknowledging that it was great to be back in Italy. The crowd kept cheering.

They started the concert with "Granada", and then went on to "Il Mondo."

The crowd loved it, and all the people around me were chatting cheerfully about the boys, saying their names over and over. People took pictures and videos of them with their cell phones, and the woman in front of me said to her friend, in English, "Yes, they are very handsome young men, aren't they?"

The audience jumped to their feet after every song, and got exited when the boys jumped down from the stage to sing "O Sole Mio."

They went around shaking hands with people and hugging others. Piero went after the girls in the crowd to dance with them, and Gianluca jogged through the pathway in the middle to me, where he pulled me to him by my waist and danced with me for a moment as he sang. The people around me stared in awe.

When Ignazio took up the tune by himself, Gianluca put down the microphone and shouted over the crowd, "How am I doing?"

"Amazing, of course!" I shouted back.

"We're singing "Constantemente Mia" next!" he said. "We don't usually sing it during concerts anymore, but I thought you'd want to hear it!"

He quickly kissed my cheek and he turned to run back up to the stage with the two other boys, coattails flying.

They finished the song at the top of the steps, and the crowd leapt to their feet. Il Volo waved, shouting their thanks, and then began to sing "Constantemente Mia."

I sang along with them, my voice lost in the crowd.

Gianluca was watching me, and when the song eventually ended, he blew me a kiss.

I clasped my hands over my heart, dazzled. The boys came to the edge of the stage and sat, and began to sing an English song called "Smile."

When Gianluca looked at me again, I blew him a kiss back, and he blushed, smiling down at his microphone.

I made Gianluca blush on stage!

It's so attractive when a boy does something well, isn't it? It doesn't matter so much what it is, but when you can see their passion, their talent, it just makes you fall in love…

And so I watched Gianluca sing and play around with Piero and Ignazio, and entertain the mass of Italian fans.

After about an hour, they started to sing "El Reloj", and the crowd was still standing from the last song.

Suddenly, there was a bang in my chest. And another. My heart began to pound, and immediately I felt as if there were too many people around me, and it was too loud, too dark, and hot…

Not now!

Not here!

Oh, why!?

I had a panic attack yesterday! It wasn't supposed to happen again for at least a little while!

I tried to fight it, my nails digging into my thighs, and as the crowd laughed at something one of the boys did, I felt as though they were laughing at me.

I couldn't breathe, and the gasping and shaking began.

I struggled against it, and became frustrated that it had to happen now.

The pounding filled my chest and ears. I was supposed to make myself be still and calmly let it pass, but there were so many people, and so much noise…

I didn't want to draw any attention to myself. This concert was about the people of Abruzzo welcoming these amazing boys back. It had nothing to do with me, and I didn't want it to.

My chest hurt, and my eyes teared up.

My mother took my arm.

"Naomi, are you having an attack?"

I looked up at her with fearful eyes, and she took me by my shoulders. I pulled away, but held onto her arm.

I looked at Gianluca, who was sitting on the opposite end of the stage, shaking hands with people who reached up to him.

I desperately wanted to get out of there before he caught sight of me, and so I said to her, "I'm going outside."

She nodded in understanding.

"It's okay. Go."

I yanked my heels off my feet, grabbed my phone, and turned to run down the aisle as fast as I could force my legs to go. I couldn't breathe whatsoever, and I felt light-headed, but I just wanted to get out of there.

I raced out the front doors of the theatre and onto a pebbly walkway that hurt my bare feet, and I ran into the grass.

A cluster of low hanging trees offered me a place to hide, and I ran into them, into a thin forest, through the trees until I tripped and went sprawling beside a stream.

Gasping, I lifted my head and clutched at the grass.

The forest was spinning before me.

Panic was rising in my chest, and I was suddenly angry.

Why does this have to happen!? All I wanted to do was come and watch Gianluca and Piero and Ignazio sing, and my body wouldn't let me do that!

I pulled in frustration at my hair, and then slapped the surface of the stream with my hand. Cold water splashed up into my face, and I paused, surprised.

I leaned over, dipping my shaking hands into the stream. The waters settled a little, and I could see my terrified eyes. I splashed more water onto my face.

I sat back and pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my dripping hands around them.

I sat quietly, trying to calm myself, letting the tears fall, letting the mascara run, letting the shaking and the pain and the panic happen.

I told myself that it was okay for me to have the attack, and that nothing was going to happen to me.

I let everything happen, and eventually it started to slow. I focused on breathing slowly, in and out, resisting the urge to gasp. I stretched out my feet and dipped them into the water, watching the rings that spread out. Little minnows swam by and nibbled my toes, and then dashed away.

There was a gurgling farther down the stream, and I wondered about it. I could always come back and explore…

Everything slowly calmed down and returned to normal, and the panic was replaced with intense fatigue. I leaned forward and looked at myself in the water, smiling at the funny-looking mascara trails on my cheeks. I picked up my feet and knelt forward, cupping my hands to scoop up some water.

I brought it to my face and gently washed off all the mascara and eye shadow, letting the water drip off my chin and hair.

I dried my face on the bottom of the red dress and smiled at myself in the water.

I returned to sitting with my feet in the water, brushing the bottom of the stream with my toes.

Everything was okay. I was okay.

I just wish it didn't have to happen during the Il Volo concert. I had no doubt that Gianluca knew I was gone, with all the times he had looked over at me. I hope the boys weren't disappointed that I had to leave.

I sat for a few minutes, listening to the water. The sky was dark, and I could tell it was about to rain.

I wondered if I should go back to the concert, and immediately pushed the thought out of my head. What if it happened again? Repeat attacks are pretty common. The thing that caused this attack would most likely cause another one if I went back. I tiredly rubbed my eyes and sighed.

Still…I could wait in the lobby. I stood, but was overcome with a wave of fatigue. I sunk back down to my knees and looked around for my phone. It was only a few feet away, and I crawled over to it, and returned to the stream.

I texted my mother, _"I'm okay. Taking a few minutes to rest."_

She texted back, _"That's fine, sweetie. Just relax."_

I stayed where I was, just resting and breathing and wondering about what Gianluca was thinking. It started to drizzle.

I thought that the concert must be over by now, but I was so tired...I didn't want to get up, and it would be embarrassing to go back and face everyone.

My phone buzzed, and I discovered a text from Gianluca.

_"Talked to your mother. Convinced her that she could go and that I'll take care of you and bring you home. I'm coming to find you."_

I looked around for my shoes, finding that I had dropped them a several feet away. I rubbed my face, and felt exhausted. I leaned back on my arms and waited for Gianluca.

After a few minutes without him showing up, I pulled out my phone and looked up "I Bring You To My Senses."

It was such a romantic song, and I thought about how Gianluca had held me and sung it to me the night before. I pulled my knees to my chest and listened…

Suddenly, the song was echoing behind me.

I jumped and turned.

Of course, there stood Gianluca, holding my heels in one hand and a red rose in the other, singing the end to the song.

I smiled softly, and as the song ended, he came over to sit by me, reaching out to brush the hair out of my face.

"I saw you leave, and I moved to come after you, but Piero and Ignazio linked arms with me, and they wouldn't let me move. After the song, they told me to give you a while to rest, and they convinced me to finish the concert. I wanted to leave so bad, though. I needed to find you!"

"I'm okay," I said, "I was so frustrated because I had to leave, and it made the attack a little worse, but I made myself be still."

"Are you okay now?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm so sorry Gianluca!"

He was surprised.

"For what?"

"Having to leave. This concert is all about Il Volo, and the attack makes it about me! I'm so sorry."

"Oh, baby, you can't help it!" he said, quickly putting an arm around my shoulder, inviting me to lean against him.

"Yes, but it's embarrassing, Gianluca! Having to stop doing things because the attacks won't let me do them!"

"It's okay, Naomi! I don't care!" he said.

He held out the rose to me.

"Here, I didn't get to give you this."

I sat up and took it, holding it to my nose to smell.

"Mmm, it's beautiful," I said, smiling at him, "Thank you, Gianluca."

"You're very welcome. Are you ready to go back?"

I made a face.

"What?"

"I don't want to go back and face the other boys," I said, leaning into him again and burying my face in his coat. His hands went around me and he held me tightly.

"It's okay, Naomi! They like you, and they'll understand. They won't care that you had to leave."

"But still, Gianluca!"

"Come on," he said, releasing me and getting to his feet. He held a hand down to me and I took it.

He pulled me up and offered me his arm, but I felt so drained that I almost fell back down.

Gianluca grabbed me around the waist before I could fall.

"Okay," he said. "I am not letting you walk."

He turned away from me and crouched down.

"Come on, I'll carry you."

I got onto his back and wrapped my hands around his neck, still holding the rose, and he held my thighs to keep me from falling. He straightened with ease, and I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

He bent to pick up my shoes, and then carried me back through the forest and to the theatre, but went around the back. I opened my eyes long enough to see that Ignazio and Piero were packing up their equipment.

"Should I put you down now?" Gianluca asked me, turning his head to see my face.

"No."

"Good," he said, "I don't want to put you down, either."

I closed my eyes again.

"I might fall asleep," I warned him, then realized, "You know what? This is kind of selfish, isn't it? You're the one who just did a whole concert!"

"I do these concerts all the time," he assured me. "Go to sleep, beautiful." I gratefully closed my eyes and tightened my arms around his neck. He started walking forward to catch up with Piero and Ignazio.

I heard Piero say, "Aha! You've brought her back!"

"Is she okay?" Ignazio asked.

"Shhh…" Gianluca said softly. "She's fine, just tired out. She was upset that she had to leave."

"Awww…she's a sweetheart." Ignazio commented.

"Yes," Gianluca said, "She really is."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next morning I borrowed Gianluca's bike again and rode off to explore. He stayed asleep, probably tired out from the concert and from carrying me around.

I left as quietly as I could, wanting to go out on my own.

I went to the stream first, back to where I had been the evening before. I took off my tennis shoes and stepped into the water, and then followed it past the trees to a larger, rushing circle of water surrounded by large rocks. I climbed onto a rock and went down to the water, then decided to get in. The water went up to the bottom of my T-shirt, and I rolled it up a little to keep any more of it from getting wet. I waded around in the water, enjoying the rushing coolness.

I climbed back onto the warm rocks and squeezed some water out of my shorts. I sat there for a while, listening to the water and watching the little fishes jump. When the sun had made its way fully into the sky and it got too hot on the rocks, I climbed down and went back to the shallow part of the stream, bending to collect some shells, which I placed in my pockets.

I went back to Gianluca's bike and guided it back to the pathway, then straddled it and rode off.

I decided to follow the road, and eventually reached a pasture containing a flock of sheep.

I jumped off the bike and went to the wooden fence, and leaned over it, looking at all the sheep.

A little lamb ran up to greet me, bleating and leaping around.

"Aww!" I said, "Hello, precious!"

I reached my hand down and it sniffed me, then skipped away and pranced back.

I giggled, and climbed over the fence, much to the excitement of the lamb.

The sheep looked me over, then went back to grazing, deciding I was harmless.

Another lamb timidly approached me, and I sat down quietly.

They came right up to me, sniffing and bleating.

I reached up my hands and stroked them, and a sheep, probably a mother, walked up to examine me. I guess it assumed that I was friendly, because it left the little lambs to play with me.

I stood, and the lambs nudged my legs.

I reached down to pick one up, but it leapt away. The other one let me scoop it up, though.

"Hey there!" I said, holding it.

It bleated and wiggled.

Then I saw an older boy approaching me, walking through the flock.

He called something out in Italian.

"English?" I asked timidly.

"I see you like my sheep," he said, approaching me.

He was much taller than me, maybe in his early twenties, with dark hair and eyes and tanned skin, the traditional handsome Italian look.

"Yes," I said, "The lambs are very cute!"

He nodded, staring at me.

I looked down at the wiggling lamb in my arms. The boy was still staring at me, and I met his gaze. After a moment I said, "I'm sorry if I'm…intruding by coming to see the lambs like this."

He shook his head.

"It's fine. I don't mind."

"Then…why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well…" he said, shrugging, "Because you're hot."

I looked down at the lamb again, breaking the eye contact.

"Um…here's your lamb back."

I held it out to him, and he took it around the middle and placed it in the grass, smiling at me.

"Surely you must have a love," he said questioningly.

"I…what?"

"A boyfriend, or something of that sort."

I nodded, slowly stepping backwards.

"Who?"

I smiled as the answer came to mind.

"I love someone named Gianluca Ginoble."

His eyes narrowed, and he gave me a condescending look.

"The singer?"

I nodded eagerly.

He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you're one of those…" he remarked.

"One of whats?"

"One of those girls who fantasize about someone they'll never even meet."

"Actually, I came here to Abruzzo with Gianluca."

"Oh, really? And I bet he loves you too, right?"

I paused.

"Well…I think so. He hasn't actually …said it yet."

"Shocker."

I folded my arms.

"You are being very rude, you know?"

"Sorry, but don't you think it's kind of ridiculous to dream about someone who will never know you?"

"I have to go now."

I turned to leave.

He reached forward and grabbed my arm.

"Wait, come on."

He gestured toward a house in the distance.

"Come into my house for a moment. Come talk with me. I haven't had a visitor in a while."

His grip was strong, and I pulled my arm away, stepping backwards.

"No, thank you."

He reached for me again, and I jumped back.

"Aw, don't be like that, babe! I'm real, Ginoble's not! Come with me. We'll have fun together."

My eyes widened. What a predator!

"Leave me alone now."

I continued walking swiftly away and felt his hand on my arm again.

I took the opportunity to deliver a roundhouse kick to his face, and he grabbed his cheek and cursed at me. I jumped over the fence and started running off to where Gianluca's bike was.

I turned back to see him jump over the fence and pursue me.

I kept running.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled as I reached the bike.

He kept following me.

"Hey!" someone yelled angrily.

Gianluca was running past me.

"Gianluca!?"

I whirled and watched him run up to the guy, who froze.

"Hey, you're-"

"Yeah, Gianluca Ginoble! Don't you ever lay your filthy hands on her ever again, got it!?" he yelled, getting up close to the guy.

"Hey, man!" he said, lifting his hands. "She's the one trespassing!"

"Don't you dare-!" Gianluca said, then he stopped himself. "If I ever see you messing with her again, there's going to be trouble, understand!?"

"Yeah, whatever." He turned and started walking away.

Gianluca turned and walked to me, his brow furrowed, his hands rolled into clenched fists,

"Gianluca?" I said. "I'm sorry."

He looked at me and his expression softened.

"It's not your fault. He's just a creep."

He turned back to the pasture, watching the guy walk away, and I reached out and put a hand on his arm.

He turned back to me, slowly unclenching his fists.

"Let's go, Gianluca."

He nodded.

He walked away from me to collect the bike he had apparently taken, which was probably his father's, as it was much too big for him.

I picked up his bike, and we started to walk, wheeling the bikes instead of riding them.

I was quiet for a while, watching Gianluca. He was tense, and he kept looking back at the house. He slowly started to relax, and I watched him.

"How did you find me?" I finally asked.

"When I woke up, I figured you would go back to the stream. You seemed to like it yesterday, so I asked Piero to drop me off- he left his headphones at the theatre. You were riding away, so I followed you on my dad's bike."

"So you were watching that whole…episode?"

"Yes. I wanted to go to you as soon as I saw him coming, but I decided to hang back and see what he would say."

I looked up at him, waiting to see what he was going to say next.

"This is why I want to come with you when you go out."

"I was getting away, wasn't I?"

"Yes, but…he could have hurt you."

"Probably not. I was almost on the bike."

"Naomi…" he sighed.

We walked quietly, and his shouted words replayed in my mind.

_"Don't you ever lay your filthy hands on her ever again, got it!?"_

_"If I ever see you messing with her again, there's going to be trouble, understand!?"_

These words made me feel weird…not good, though.

Gianluca was always so calm and collected. I didn't like him yelling, seeing him angry. I stared down at my shoes as I walked, thinking.

"Naomi, what's wrong?"

I looked up at him.

"You look…upset. What are you thinking?"

I shook my head.

"The yelling, right? Did I scare you?"

I paused, and then nodded.

"It's just…" I said, attempting to explain. "I love how you're so…calm, and…I don't know…I just…"

"Oh, Naomi," he said, leaning the bike against a tree.

He reached out to hug me, making me drop the bike and snuggle up to him.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said softly. "I wanted to scare him. I just got a little upset because I saw he might have hurt you."

I nodded, and he held me tightly.

I took in his scent and didn't pull away.

"Naomi, sometimes I don't always say the things that I should say."

"What are you talking about, Gianluca?"

He cradled my face with his hand.

"You said that you think I love you, but I haven't told you yet."

I blushed and fidgeted.

"Oh, that."

"Naomi."

I froze and looked into his beautiful brown eyes.

"Naomi, I love you."

I smiled wide.

"I love you too, Gianluca!"

He smiled too and then kissed me, and wrapped his hands around my waist and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around him and giggled.

No guy has ever picked me up like this before. He was so sweet!

He kissed me, and after a few moments I unwrapped my legs from his waist and he set me down.

"Let's go home," I said.

"Do we have to?"

I was surprised.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I know a place where we can go canoeing."

"Canoeing!? Let's do it!"

I giggled in excitement.

He smiled.

"I knew it'd make you happy."

"Let's go! Come on, I can't wait!"

We straddled the bikes and rode off, Gianluca leading me.

Late in the afternoon, we returned to the house, soaking wet and filled with joyful energy, teasing each other and joking around.

Piero and Ignazio were sitting on Piero's porch, Ignazio pushing around a soccer ball with his feet, and Piero wearing his Beats headphones.

"Hey!" Ignazio called. "We've been waiting for you guys to get back. Where have you been?"

"We went canoeing!" I called, running over to meet them.

Piero took off his headphones and rested them around his neck.

"Are you sure you didn't go swimming?" he remarked at our dripping, flustered appearances.

"Well," Gianluca said, sheepishly running a hand through his wet hair. "Apparently you're not supposed to stand up in a canoe."

They laughed, and I shoved Gianluca.

"We wanted to do some work on the song about Italy," Piero said, "Care to join us?"

"Yes, alright," Gianluca said, "After I get changed."

"I'm going to go find my mom and ask where she put my hairdryer," I said.

"She's at my house," Ignazio said, and I nodded, turning and hopping off the porch.

"Hang on, Naomi," Gianluca said, stepping down to stand in front of me.

He took me around the waist with one hand, and the other he cupped around my cheek. He leaned in and slowly kissed me, in front of both Piero and Ignazio. He pulled back and smiled crookedly at me, and the other two boys were grinning at each other, eyebrows raised.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Gianluca said to me, and I nodded, breathless, and set off toward Ignazio's house, smiling hugely.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I felt as if I had been slacking on my reading, so I took some time to finish up The Old Man and the Sea and move onto my next classic- To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a nice night outside, and the stars were out, so I made myself some tea and went out to the porch to read.

I sat cross-legged in my Josh Groban t-shirt and blue pajama pants, and discovered that I rather liked this book. After a while, I heard someone approaching me. I looked up at Ignazio, smiling and holding his notepad.

"I wrote some more lyrics," he said, sitting next to me. "Will you give them to Gianluca when you go in?"

"Sure," I said, taking the page he ripped out the pad for me. "What's it about?"

"More about Italy…and Gianluca started writing a new song, but he wrote the lyrics in my notepad, so I'm giving them back to him.."

"What's it about?"

"Oh…just some things he was thinking about on Piero's porch."

I waited for him to say more, but he didn't, just kinda half-smiled at me.

I stuck the pages in my book, and then looked up to see Piero approaching us, his Beats headphones over his ears.

He took them off and let them hang around his neck.

"Hey, Piero," I said.

He held up his hand in a peace sign and sat on the other side of me.

"You telling her about today?" he asked Ignazio.

"What happened today?" I asked, turning to Ignazio.

He smiled and leaned back on his arms.

"Gianluca's gonna kill us…" he warned, grinning.

"Aw, who cares?" Piero said, grinning back.

"You tell her, then!" Ignazio said, and Piero smiled quietly at me.

"Come on, guys!" I said, looking back and forth at them.

"Okay, okay!" Ignazio said, leaning in to me. "Naomi, Gianluca is like, _obsessed_ with you!"

"He could not stop talking about you for a minute!" Piero said. "And usually he doesn't even talk that much!"

"And he would start smiling, and we would ask him what he was thinking about…" Ignazio said.

"And of course, he'd be thinking about you!" Piero finished.

Gosh, talking to them was like watching a tennis match. I had to keep looking back and forth as they talked.

"He loves you, Naomi," Piero said, becoming suddenly serious "As in, really loves you!"

There were butterflies in my stomach, and a warmth in my chest, and I giggled.

"We thought you should know," Ignazio said, watching me. "We know that he can be quiet and tend not to say what he thinks sometimes."

Piero leaned forward.

"Aw, Gianluca's gonna kill us when he finds out we told on him!"

Ignazio laughed and slapped Piero's hand, making me laugh.

"Well, that's what friends are for," Ignazio said, leaning back on his hands again. "We just thought you should know this Naomi, that he loves you."

I nodded.

"Thank you, guys! He actually told me earlier that he loves me."

"Really?" Piero said, surprised.

I nodded.

"Well, good," Ignazio said, "I'm glad to hear that he told you!"

"Me too!"

"Say…" Piero said, "Do you have any Torrone Nurzia left?"

"Aha," I said, "The nougat! That's why you decided to come over, huh?"

"Well, we just…"

"Oh, hush!" I said playfully, standing up to get the box of sweets, and they laughed. I went in and took it off the counter, then tossed it to Piero.

"Goodnight, boys," I said, shaking my head as they fought over the box.

Piero motioned for me to come over to them, and I did. They each hugged me good-night, and then I left them on the porch with the sweets. I passed my mother and Gianluca's parents chatting in the living room and bounded up the stairs, longing to see Gianluca.

I froze when I reached the top.

He was singing.

"_Here alone… I wish you were here to hold. Time is moving much too slow without you. When it gets too hard, you're never too far. I bring you to my senses, senses. I see you when I close my eyes. I feel you on my fingertips; I taste you on my lips…"_

I quietly pulled the pages Ignazio had given me out of the book and then set it on a lamp table in the hall.

I quietly approached Gianluca's room, hanging by the door to listen.

Suddenly, he stopped singing.

"Come in, Naomi."

I blushed and stepped forward.

It was dark in his room, except for his glowing laptop screen.

He was sitting on the floor with his feet stretched out in front of him, the laptop balanced on his thighs. He was wearing ear buds, and he held one out of his ear as I entered.

"I could see your shadow," he explained, smiling crookedly.

"In this dark room?"

I went right up to him and picked up the laptop, setting it aside and then sitting on his thighs instead. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my back.

I held up the papers in front of him, and he took them and squinted at them in the darkness.

"From Ignazio," I said.

"Right, thanks."

"Will you tell me what it means?"

"If you turn on the light."

I stood and went to the switch on the wall, flicking it upward.

"Ay-ay-ay!" he said, putting a hand over his eyes. "It's bright!"

"Well, that's what happens when you sit in complete darkness except for the laptop screen," I teased. "It's bad for your eyes, Gianluca!"

"Come here, you!" he said, holding out his arm.

I sat next to him and cuddled up to his chest, his T-shirt soft and warm against my cheek.

He smoothed out the page on his knee and pointed to each word, translating to me the words Ignazio had written.

They were beautiful, and they would make a great song for Il Volo.

"Ignazio's quite the writer, isn't he?" I asked.

"Yes, definitely!" Gianluca said, and tucked the pages into his pocket.

"Wait, there's another page!" I said.

"That one's a secret," he said, putting a finger to his lips.

I made a face.

"I wish I knew Italian, so I could read it."

"Well, I'll teach you some Italian, then."

"Okay!"

"Try…"_Come stai" _."

I repeated it questioningly, and he nodded.

"That means "How are you." Try… "_Arrivederci_." "

I did, and he said, "That means "Goodbye." "

I sounded it out again and he nodded.

"Very good. Okay, tell me… "_Ti Amo_." "

"_Ti Amo_. What does that mean?"

He smiled.

"Come on, Gianluca!"

"It means… "I love you." "

"Oh," I said, smiling, and then I said softly, "Ti Amo, Gianluca."

He kissed my cheek.

"Ti Amo, Naomi."

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

It was Ignazio.

_"Did you read the lyrics?"_

Gianluca smiled crookedly at me, and then started texting in Italian.

"Aw, you're cruel!" I said, and he laughed.

I noticed the little alarm icon in the side of the screen.

"Gianluca, do you have an alarm set?"

"Yes. That's so I can get up when you do. I missed you this morning and I don't want it to happen again."

"Aw, you don't have to come with me, Gianluca. Sometimes I like to explore on my own, and I can take of myself!"

He shook his head, texting.

"I'm coming with you."

I took his phone from him and texted Ignazio.

_"Ignazio, you guys are cruel, using Italian against me!" _

Gianluca laughed, and the phone buzzed.

_"Fine, how's your Spanish, Naomi?"_

I rolled my eyes.

"What other languages do you guys know?" I asked Gianluca.

"We know German, French, and Chinese too."

"Geez, Gianluca! I only know English!"

I handed him the phone back and he resumed texting Ignazio.

I sat quietly beside him as he texted.

I kissed his cheek.

"I guess I'm going to bed, now." I said, standing and walking to the door.

His hands went around my middle and he scooped me up, holding me over his head, and I shrieked.

"Oh, no, you're not!"

I laughed and he dropped me on his bed. I bounced off onto the floor and he leapt over the bed on top of me and rolled across the floor with me.

"Hey!" I said, pushing at his chest. "Don't be too rough!"

"Ti amo, Naomi."

"Ti amo, Gianluca."

He kissed my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, and then finally, softly, my lips.

He was holding himself above me, and he got off and lay next to me on the floor, facing me, watching me quietly.

"Gianluca, you're so sweet, you know that?"

He smiled, blushing a little.

"Can we take a picture?" I asked. "For my friends back home?"

"Of course."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and we sat up. Gianluca put his arm around me and I held the phone out to take the picture. Then I sent it to my friends.

"No, no, no!" Gianluca said, "That is not good enough!"

He took the phone from me.

"What?"

He pulled me to him and kissed my cheek, and as he did so, he snapped a picture.

I laughed, and he leaned in next to me and took another picture. He stood up and reached down to pull me up. He leaned over and I jumped onto his back so he could take another picture. Then he put me down and pulled me in front of him, putting his forehead to mine and taking a picture. Then he dropped his arm down with the phone to kiss me, and when I kissed back he quickly raised his arm and snapped a picture. Then he stood there quietly, typing something on my phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Sending these to myself," he said. "I don't have any pictures of you yet. I need something to look at when you're not here."

I smiled.

"Why look at pictures when you could see the real thing?" I teased.

He smiled.

"Because you, my darling, tend to disappear."

I laughed.

"But you always manage to find me."

"Well, not always."

He handed my phone back to me and sat on the ground, pulling the laptop toward himself.

I sat next to him, and he opened his arm to me. I leaned against his chest.

"What are you doing on there?" I asked, as I watched him scroll through different ads based in Abruzzo.

"I'm finding some stuff to do with you," he said. "I want to keep you entertained in Abruzzo."

"Like what stuff?"

"I found some trekking routes in the mountains, and there's a horseback riding place, and one of these days I have to take you to Rome."

"Sounds fun!" I said. "I can't wait!"

Gianluca was quiet for a moment, scrolling.

Then he closed the laptop and pushed it aside, and leaned his head on mine.

"I want to ask you something, Naomi," he said.

"Ask away," I said.

"What did you think earlier when that guy told you you're hot?"

"Ick," I said.

He smiled. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning "hot" isn't really a good compliment. See, beautiful refers to attractiveness, loveliness. But hot refers to beauty in…"

I thought of a more polite way to phrase my thoughts, and came up with, "…well, in a more sexual way. It's not a good compliment, especially upon meeting a person."

He nodded.

"I like your reasoning. I knew something was wrong after he said that. I was wondering if that's when you knew."

"Yes, I knew," I said. "I was trying to figure out how to get away without letting him know I was suspicious of him."

He was quiet for a second, and I could tell he was debating with himself whether he should say what he was thinking. I snuggled against his chest and waited.

He decided to voice his thought, and said, "You were holding a lamb."

"Huh?"

"Well…it's kind of symbolic… you being the lamb-"

He looked down at me snuggled against him.

"Sweet, innocent, pure… And then here he comes, seeking to abuse that."

I was quiet, thinking.

"That's pretty deep, Gianluca."

He laughed.

"What I'm getting to here is…every lamb needs someone to watch over it, Naomi."

"Well, Gianluca, don't think of me as a lamb, then. I'm a girl, not a little sheep. I can handle myself! I always go exploring at home."

"Yes, but this is Abruzzo. It's different."

"I'll be fine, Gianluca!"

I kissed his cheek softly and gazed at him.

"Please don't worry."

He signed, running his free hand through his hair.

"It just makes me nervous, is all."

I yawned and tucked my head under his chin.

He picked up the laptop again and placed it on his lap. He reached for his iPod and handed me an ear bud.

"What do you want to listen to? I have all sorts of music on here."

"Il Volo."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Any specific song?"

" "I Bring You To My Senses." "

He put it on, handed me the iPod, and then resumed typing.

When he wasn't looking, I quietly reached for his phone and turned off the alarm. I didn't want him to feel like he had to follow me around and guard me. If I get hurt, it's my fault, and I can get myself out of trouble. Sometimes I just like to wander around by myself, just me and nature. My mom understands; why can't he?

I listened to almost Il Volo's entire "We Are Love" album, snuggled again Gianluca, who worked on the laptop with one hand, and held me with the other. My eyes were closed, and I felt very comfortable…

He jostled me somewhat to get me to respond.

"Shouldn't you go to bed now, miss "up at the crack of dawn?" "

"Mmmmm…"

I rested my hand against his chest.

He took the ear bud from my ear.

I heard him move the laptop again, and he moved a hand under my legs. Then he was lifting me from the ground, holding me to him.

He carried me through the darkened hallway and into the guestroom.

He laughed softly.

"I see you have no time to make the bed, Naomi?" he said.

"What's the point?" I whispered sleepily. "You just have to unmake it again at night."

He laid me down on the mattress and pulled the covers to my chest.

"Goodnight, beautiful," he whispered, bending over me to kiss my cheek.

I smiled, reaching up my hand to touch his face, and moved it up to feel his smooth, thick hair.

"Goodnight, handsome."

He stood and went out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"See you first thing in the morning," he said on the way out.

_No, you won't._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next morning, I went out to walk on the beach, and I went wading in the shallow water.

Then I set out walking, wondering where I would end up, which turned out to be in front of a long field containing several badgers and porcupines. I reached an enormous hill, and I climbed to the top and discovered that I could see all the way to the area where Gianluca's home was. I ran down the hill, laughing like a little child, and almost fell at the bottom. I kept walking, and found some wild rosemary plants, which I filled my pockets with for my mother. A little while later, I came across a huge field of grapevines, probably a place where the winemakers make their famous drink. I leaned on the fence to take in the sight, and then decided I should start back to Gianluca's house, not wanting to worry him too much.

When I got back, I discovered that the adults had departed for a hike, and Gianluca was still asleep. Gosh, he can sleep late! It was past nine! Well, late for me, I guess. I went to get To Kill a Mockingbird to read while I waited for him to get up.

When he finally did, I heard him rushing around upstairs, and then I turned to see him run down the stairs, pulling on a T-shirt as he went.

He reached for the keys on the counter, then spotted me curled up on the couch. He sighed in relief, closing his eyes and running his hands over his face and through his hair.

"Relieved I'm still alive?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows, then shook his head.

"I don't understand! I set an alarm. You saw it-"

He stopped and folded his arms in realization.

"You turned off my alarm?" he asked, unamused.

I smiled.

"Yes."

"Naomi!"

I giggled and turned back to my book.

He sighed again and went about making himself breakfast.

He sat at the counter, his brow furrowed in defeat, eating his cereal.

I watched him quietly, smiling.

He caught me watching him.

"What?"

I patted the couch next to me, and he picked up his cereal to come sit next to me, stretching his feet out to rest on the coffee table.

I continued reading, and all was quiet except for the sound of Gianluca's spoon occasionally clinking against the edge of the bowl.

I looked up at him.

"Gianluca, would you want me to read to you?"

A smile broke through his serious expression.

"I would _love_ if you read to me."

He drank the last of the milk from the bowl and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table.

Then he opened his arm, and I got close to him to lean against his chest.

"Chapter five. _"My nagging got the better of Jem eventually, as I knew it would, and to my relief we slowed down the game for a while. He still maintained, however, that Atticus hadn't said we couldn't, therefore we could; and if Atticus ever said we couldn't, Jem thought of a way around it…"_

As I read, I could feel him watching me, and I enjoyed it. I had his complete attention, and I looked up to share a smile with him whenever I read something particularly cute or funny.

When I finished the chapter I asked, "Should I stop?"

"One more, please," he said, and so I turned the page and began chapter six.

When I finished, I closed the book and looked up at him, and he kissed my forehead and stood, taking his empty bowl to the sink. I followed him and leaned on the counter.

"Gianluca, can we do something today?"

"Like what?" he asked, rinsing out the bowl.

"Like…go on a date."

He smiled, and set the bowl down, turning to face me, resting his elbows on the counter.

"Well, the boys and I have some song-writing to do…"

"Oh."

"But how about dinner?"

"Dinner's good!"

He came over to me.

"I know a great little place we can go to," he said, taking my hands and kissing them.

"Sounds fun."

"How about seven?" he asked.

"That's fine. What should I wear?"

"I would like you to wear a dress. And I'll wear my suit, since you like when guys wear suits."

"Perfecto!" I said, leaning in to kiss him.

"Ti amo, Naomi."

I smiled.

"Ti amo!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

At a little past four I was itching to go out and explore, and I pressed my face against the window, gazing at the mountains in the distance.

I went to find my mother. She was sitting at the desk in her guestroom, sending emails to some clients.

"I'm going out for a while," I said.

"Okay. Why are you telling me? You usually just leave."

"Because Gianluca will be looking for me when he finishes with Piero and Ignazio. I want you to be able to tell him that I went out, but tell him not to go after me."

"Why can't he go after you?" she asked, pushing back from the desk and looking concerned.

"He likes to go with me when I go exploring. Sometimes it's just fun to be alone, you know? But he says it's not safe for me to be alone in Abruzzo."

She smiled.

"And _that's _why I like him!" she said. "Reasonable, respectful…"

"Okay, Mom," I interrupted, "I'll see you later."

I looked around for my phone, but couldn't find it anywhere in the house.

Desperate to go, I left without it.

I strapped on a watch, took Gianluca's bike from the garage, and snuck past Ignazio's house, where they were practicing. Then I straddled the bike and rode off.

I really wanted to go to the mountains, and I biked through some trails in a woodsy area and then through a long field as a shortcut.

I eventually arrived at a cluster of smaller, rocky mountains that led to the much higher ones.

I left Gianluca's bike at the base of the mini-mountains and examined them. They were only about a hundred-fifty feet tall where I was standing, and covered in dirt.

Are mountains usually this dirty? Perhaps they are; I haven't been to any mountains before.

I walked forward and grabbed onto a rock, hoisting myself up. I slowly and carefully went up rock by rock, clinging onto the side of the mountain as I climbed. The side slanted somewhat, making it easier to climb. Halfway up, I looked around and down at the ground, smiling with delight. I cupped my hands to my mouth.

"I love Abruzzo!" I yelled, and it echoed around me. I laughed, and that echoed too.

I continued climbing until I reached the top, where I sat and looked around me.

I whooped with joy and peered down at the ground, a hundred-fifty feet below me.

I decided to get up and hike some more, not getting too far away from the bike.

After a while, it began to drizzle.

"Ah, well…" I said to myself, putting my hands on my hips and smiling up at the gray Abruzzo sky, "Guess I'll get to cross showering off of my to-do list then."

I turned around and around, taking in the scenes around me. It was absolutely breathtaking. If only I had my phone to take pictures! Oh, well, I could always come back later.

The drizzling turned to a light rain, and I started to head back towards the bike, hoping to get down before the dirt turned to mud and the rocks became slippery.

I was about a hundred feet above the bike now, and I kept climbing back down, carefully stepping onto rocks and holding onto others. I reached a point where the next large rock was several feet away, not within stepping distance, but perhaps jumping distance. The rain started to come down a little harder, dripping off my blue T-shirt and cutoff shorts. My surroundings were covered in a gray shroud, and I squinted through the drops running down my face.

I decided to try to skid down the side of the mountain a little and land on the rock. Under that there was a little cliff, and I'd have to get on my hands and knees to get down from that. I stepped off of the rock I was on and inched toward the other, skidding a little.

Then my shoe caught in the mud, and I hurtled forward.

I threw my arms out and desperately grabbed hold of the rock, falling against it, only to discover that it was unsteady, and I was now plummeting off the side of a mountain. I screamed, and slammed into a mound of rocks that cut into my skin. I rolled off of it and plummeted downward, off a little cliff, screaming and grasping for something to hold onto.

I slammed onto the side of the mountain, and my arms were burned with the friction of brushing down rocks. Everything pulsed as I was gripped with pain, and I was pressed against the side of the mountain.

The rain blinded me, and I wasn't falling anymore.

My heart pounded, and my head spun, and I moved to get up, onto to discover that I couldn't. Things were pressing into me, into the sides of my chest, making it hard to breathe. I blinked the rain out of my eyes, and looked around, bewildered.

I was wedged between two huge, stubborn rocks, if you could call them that. They were more like boulders.

One was pinning my arm to my side, and the other was against my chest, my arm stuck reaching out for help that wasn't there. Little pebbles that were dislodged from my falling tumbled over me.

I struggled, and rain ran down the boulders into my eyes. I kicked my feet around and muddy water flew up. I tried desperately to free myself from the mountain's tight grasp, but to no avail.

I screamed, but the rain drowned me out, literally, running into my mouth and making me splutter.

I got my leg up onto one of the boulders and pushed at it, but it refused to move.

The edges were cutting into me, and I screamed, feeling hopeless, angry, and out of breath.

I wiggled around to try to free my chest, but I was stuck!

In the rain, in the dark, trapped!

I moved my arm above my head and blinked away the rain, trying to check the time. It was almost six. I should be heading back now, if only I could free myself.

I thrashed around, and the rocks cut into me, making me inhale sharply in pain.

Streams of thick mud started to run over my curls and legs, and rain was running into my face in a steady stream.

I spluttered and screamed, and prayed that I wouldn't have a panic attack.

As soon as I thought it, a painful pounding began in my chest.

I screamed.

"GIANLUCAAAA!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

***Gianluca's point of view**

I sat at the bottom of the stairs, nervously running my hands over my thighs. It wasn't seven yet. Any second Naomi would bound up the porch steps, laughing and sopping wet, breathless to tell me about the adventure she'd had. She'd run upstairs to dry off and change, and we could go to dinner.

I checked the hall clock, and ran a hand through my hair.

I heard someone on the porch steps, and I jumped up, but it was Piero who entered.

I sat back down, disappointed, and he asked, "Any sign of her yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Did you call her?"

"Of course! She won't answer!"

"Let me try."

He pulled out his phone and dialed, as the rain slowed a little. He held it to his ear and chewed his tongue, as he does when he gets impatient.

Then he turned to me, his brow furrowed.

"Do you hear that?"

We listened. I turned and dashed up the steps, and Piero followed. I went into my room and got on my hands and knees, reaching under the desk to produce Naomi's phone.

"Oh, man…" Piero said, and I dropped it on the floor and ran my hands over my face.

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, cheer up; it's not even seven yet! Just wait; she's coming!"

Ignazio appeared in the door way, and Piero stooped to pick up the phone, showing it to him.

"Oh…" he said, realizing who it belonged to.

I was on my knees, shaking my head, fear rising in my chest.

"Come on, Gianluca," Ignazio said, and I got up and followed them downstairs.

We sat at the bottom of the steps and waited, the boys trying to talk to me, but I refused to answer. I bounced my foot nervously.

The clock struck seven.

Mrs. Kendall worriedly approached us.

"Is she here?"

I shook my head.

"Oh. Well, sometimes she gets distracted. Let's just give her a while…"

Everyone gathered in the house, my parents, Piero's family, Ignazio's family, and the three of us. Everyone was joining the wait for Naomi. The boys and I moved to the kitchen table.

"I'm sure she's on her way," my mother kept telling Ms. Kendall, patting her hand. Ms. Kendall nodded, but didn't look so sure.

It was seven-thirty…

"Let's give her until eight…" Ms. Kendall said, and everyone agreed.

As time passed, I got increasingly more nervous. The rain was coming down hard, and nightmares about what could be happening to her rose to my mind.

I wanted to see her, touch her, talk to her. I wanted her to run in and hug me and apologize for being late, and then I could take her out with me to dinner. Or maybe not, if she was tired. I could hold her and she would fall asleep against me, listening to the Il Volo album.

I rubbed circles on my thighs and ran my hands through my hair over and over again, waiting.

Ms. Kendall tapped her nails on the cabinet, and my mom chewed hers.

The dads were silent for once, and Ignazio and Piero's mothers paced in the living room.

I took out my phone and scrolled through the pictures I had taken with her- kissing her, resting my head against hers, holding her…

The guys both took my shoulders.

"It's going to be okay," Ignazio said. "She'll come."

The clock struck eight, and everyone jumped.

"Alright…" my mother said. "Ten more minutes, and then we'll organize a search party…okay?"

Everyone nodded…and waited…

She didn't come.

***Naomi's point of view**

The attack had been over for a long time now, but I continued to shake, now from the cold, constantly rubbing rain out my eyes, and spitting it out of my mouth. I never thought I'd be so sick of water.

Mud flowed down the rocks and seeped into my clothes, and I was crying, exhausted and aching, unable to move or sleep. My watch said that I had been stuck for two hours now, but it felt like so much longer, and I felt numb and hopeless and pathetic.

Maybe this is where I'll have to spend the whole night. Could you die from being wet? Well, I guess you could drown…Or die from being cold…

My hands and feet were all wrinkly, and I was so weak…

I moved my legs around to gain some feeling back in them and pulled up my foot in another attempt at shoving one of the boulders. It had moved the tiniest bit before, and now there was more mud and water built up, so maybe…

I shoved it over and over with my dwindling strength, grunting, desperation in my chest.

I shoved and shoved, and the boulder rocked a little.

I kept shoving, ignoring the pressing cold and exhaustion, and eventually the whole thing moved, dipped forward and went tumbling down. Unfortunately, now there was nothing holding me in place, and down I went, a choked, watery scream escaping from my lungs.

I tumbled headfirst in the mud, down the mountain, getting filthy and beaten. I was tossed down and down with nothing to stop me, wanting to scream again but unable to breathe, and then slammed into in a muddy piles of stones on the ground.

I opened my eyes to discover that I was lying on my back at the base of the mountain.

I also saw that several boulders were bouncing down the mountain toward me.

I yanked my protesting body upward and stumbled out the way, collapsing in the grass under a huge tree, hoping that it would shield some of the rain.

I couldn't move anymore, every last ounce of my energy taken from me. I was soaked, freezing, covered in mud and grass, and felt very, very pathetic. I'll get up in a few minutes…just give me a few minutes…I closed my eyes, and the horrible, freezing rain pounded my body through the tree branches.

When I was finally able to open my eyes again, the rain had slowed somewhat, and the watch said it was almost nine. Everyone must be so scared for me! Lightening lit up the sky, and then the thunder roared, and I jumped.

I pushed at the ground a few times and was finally able to sit up.

I wiped mud off of my face and arms, and leaned against the tree. I could see the bike in the distance, and I began to give myself commands.

Stand up, Naomi. I struggled to my feet.

Walk, Naomi. I stumbled forward.

Pick up the bike, Naomi. I yanked it upward, and it felt very heavy.

I threw my leg over the bike, and paused, as I momentarily felt overwhelmed with exhaustion, trying not to collapse.

No, I must get home.

I picked up my feet and started to pedal, ignoring the protesting of my limbs.

I rode for several minutes, but when I reached a grassy field the bike went down, and so did I, thrown into the grass a few feet away. I moaned in protest. Why do I have to move? Can't I just stay here?

Get up, Naomi…

Get up, Naomi…

I pushed at the ground and clambered to my feet, taking the bike and deciding to walk, so that the ground would be less far away when I fell again.

I trudged along as the rain picked up, forcing myself to keep going.

Why did I have to go so far out today!?

My shoe caught on a root, and down I went, groaning in frustration.

I tried to get up and found that I couldn't, so I lay there for a while, feeling as if I wanted to cry but too tired to do so.

Was Gianluca looking for me? I hoped he would find me so I could stop moving.  
I must get home! He must be so worried about his "little lamb", as he put it.

I have to get home. I am strong and I can do this! Then I can rest, but first I must reach home!

I've spent hours hiking around in unknown places, exploring. Surely I can walk a little more to get home?  
I untangled myself from the roots on the ground and struggled to my feet, discovering that I was at the edge of a forest, meaning I could lean on trees and things as I went, which restored some hope. I also thought about snakes, but immediately pushed the thought out of my mind, too cold and tired to be scared.

So I stumbled on, shivering and freezing, my teeth chattering. I used the trees to push myself forward. I was tempted to leave the bike, but it was Gianluca's, and it was my responsibility at the moment, so I wheeled it along with me, panting and dripping wet, trying hard not to fall because I didn't know if I could get back up.

***Gianluca's Point of View**

I felt useless and desperate, because I had absolutely no idea where to look for Naomi.

I drove to places that I knew she knew of; the beach, the canoeing place, the field with the sheep.

I even went up to the window of that creep's house, not wanting to speak to him because I didn't want him to know she was missing. I peered in the window and saw him sleeping alone in front of the television. So Naomi wasn't there, thank heavens.

I was still wearing my suit, and it was sopping wet. It felt gross, heavy and sticking to me, but I ignored the feeling. It was freezing out here in the rain, which made me more afraid for Naomi, who could be out in it right now without a car to climb into for relief.

We had split into four groups. My parents and were going to places that thought Naomi could have gone to. Piero's family, with the exception of Piero, was asking around in the marketplace and neighboring clusters of houses. Ignazio's family, with the exception of Ignazio, was pretty much just randomly driving around, looking to see it if she was roaming around on the side of the road, which we all knew she probably wasn't. I was doing almost the same thing, though, but I was getting out and walking around, because I knew she'd probably be out in nature someplace. I hoped that someone nice had taken her in from the rain. But then why didn't she call any of us?

Maybe she had found a cave or something to stay in during the rain, but she likes rain, or at least used to like rain, and I don't thing she would reject walking home in it unless something bad had happened to her.

Then there was Ignazio and Piero, whom the group had appointed to stay at the house just in case she went back. They protested, but someone had to stay, and the adults felt as if it was their responsibility to go out looking. And I was not about to sit at home and wonder about what was happening to her!

I'd been searching for about two hours, and hadn't seen her or my bike.

I decided to return to the house and start biking outward from there, and maybe I'd find some clues as to where she was.

It didn't seem likely, but it was the only plan I had.

So I went home, going inside to drop off my sopping wet coat.

"Any sign of her?" I asked.

They were both sitting in the kitchen, shaking their heads.

I sighed and angrily tossed the coat onto the floor, then turned to go to the garage. They got up and followed me.

"What are you doing?" Piero asked, as I dragged my dad's bike out of a heap of junk.

"She started from here and biked outward somewhere, so that's what I'm going to do, and hopefully I'll find her!"

He nodded, and I opened the garage door and mounted the bike.

"We'll call you if she shows up," Ignazio said solemnly, and I nodded, telling myself not to cry, about to speed off.

Piero grabbed my shoulder then.

"Wait, Gianluca! Look!"

He pointed.

I squinted through the heavy rain at a wet, muddy figure, trudging toward the house, dragging my bike behind it.

I froze, then jumped off the bike and the three of us took off through the rain, yelling her name.

***Naomi's point of view**

Everything was numb and wet and freezing, and I could feel myself about to collapse. I couldn't go on anymore, but I could see the house from here, its warm lights welcoming me back.

I trudged forward, knowing that any second I'd fall and be unable to move. If only it would stop raining…

Someone shouted my name, and I looked up through lifeless eyes at three figures running toward me as fast as they could come, the first one in a suit, but without a coat.

I was done.

I couldn't stand any longer, and the heavy bike slipped out of my grasp.

I collapsed, and Gianluca caught me before I could hit the ground.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Gianluca was wet too, and he pulled me tightly against him and rushed back to the house with me, saying my name over and over, but I was too tired to even open my eyes.

He brought me inside, where it was blindingly bright, and laid me on the floor in the kitchen, covering my face in kisses.

The floor was cold and hard, but I was wet and dirty and the couch wouldn't be appropriate, though I pined for its comfort and warmth.

"Piero, get some towels!" Gianluca ordered.

"There's some in the dryer right now!" he called, rushing away.

"Ignazio, call the parents!"

"But what do I tell them?"

"I don't know! I…I guess we'll have to ask Naomi!"

He knelt next to me and leaned into me, his arm on my shoulder, shaking me. I tried to tell him to stop, but no words came out.

"Naomi, what happened? Who hurt you!?"

I didn't answer.

He pulled me up to lean against him.

"Come on, Naomi, what happened?"

"Oh, Gianluca, can you please just let me sleep?" I begged, finding my voice.

He rejoiced in hearing my voice, and pressed my head against his chest.

"Just tell me if you're okay!"

I forced myself to answer.

"I think so. It was the mountain."

"The mountain? Naomi, what happened?"

I didn't answer.

"Come on, Naomi," Ignazio encouraged, crouching down next to me. "We need to know."

"Just tell me if you need us to take you to the hospital," Gianluca said.

"No, I don't think so. I'm kind of…numb…and cold…Just let me sleep, guys, please…"

Piero came in with towels fresh from the dryer, and Gianluca took one and began to wipe the mud and water off my face with it. It was soft and fluffy and warm, and it felt good.

I was shivering, and I was so exhausted…

"What do I tell them?" Ignazio asked again.

Feeling obliged to answer, I whispered, "Tell them that I came home on my own and I'm okay, but not to come yet because I can't bear to do anything but sleep, and they'll freak out if they see me looking like this."

"Should I say that?" Ignazio asked Gianluca.

"Yes, I guess so," Gianluca said. "But be as gentle and reassuring as possible! Tell them to go out and eat or something, and that we'll take care of her and get her to tell us the full story. Tell them she's safe now."

He kept wiping me off, and I felt like one of those rejected newborn kittens that you have to rub to get it to respond.

"It's no use, Gianluca," Piero interjected. "She needs a warm bath and dry clothes, and so do you."

That sounded wonderful, but I was too tired to bathe.

"Here, take her," Gianluca said, and I was transferred to Piero, who held me as tight as Gianluca had. He took the towel and kept wiping off my face and hair.

Ignazio hung up the phone.

"I had to plead for some time! They said they'll give us an hour, and then they're coming!" he yelled to Gianluca, who was now bounding up the stairs.

"Ignazio, take off her shoes, will you?" Piero said, and he knelt next to me and took off my muddy tennis shoes and peeled off my wet socks.

"Where's Gianluca?" I whispered to Piero.

"It sounds like he's running you a bath," he said.

"I'm too tired to take a bath, and I've had enough water to last a lifetime!"

"Well, we're not letting you sleep like this," Ignazio said,.

"I'm so cold…" I murmured, and Ignazio wrapped my feet in a blissfully warm towel.

They kept asking me questions, but I didn't answer any of them.

Gianluca ran back downstairs and took me from Piero's arms.

"Just let me sleep…"

"Come on, sweetheart," he said, taking me upstairs and into the bathroom.

My eyes fluttered open as he leaned over and carefully placed me into a tub of wonderfully warm water, clothes and all.

"Take a bath, okay, Naomi?"

"I'm too tired, Gianluca…"

He leaned over the tub and kissed me, holding my face in his hands.

"Just do it for me, okay? Then you can sleep."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He left, and I forced myself to sit up, reaching for the soap.

I reluctantly washed myself, ridding my body of the horrible cold. The water made me even more sleepy, but I quickly washed out all the dirt from my skin, hair, and clothes, and I began to feel a little refreshed and not so pathetic. I gradually gained back all the feeling in my limbs, and I stopped shaking.

The bath water was muddy, and I used the showerhead to rinse off all the soap, then grabbed the warm towel he had laid out for me and dried off, telling myself repeatedly the faster I finished, the faster I could sleep.

He had also laid out my pajamas, and I put them on and drained the dirty water from the tub and hung up my dripping clothes.

When I opened the bathroom door, I found that Gianluca was sitting outside of it, in a dry T-shirt and sweatpants, waiting for me.

He jumped up and hugged me, kissing my head.

"Mmm…" he said. "Feel better?"

"I'm so tired, Gianluca…"

I was achy and I didn't want to move, and I was exhausted…

He wrapped a hand around my back and put one under my legs, picking me up.

"Okay, Naomi," he said as he carried me downstairs. "You have to tell us what happened."

"You promised I could sleep! You promised, Gianluca!"

He put me on the couch and sat next to me, putting his arm around me and pulling me to him.

"First you have to tell us what happened. We need to know what to tell the adults when they get back."

"Tell them I'm sleeping."

"Naomi, please?"

I opened my eyes and looked into his pleading, worried face, and then over at Piero and Ignazio, who were pulling up chairs to the couch. Piero was unfolding a thick, fluffy blue blanket, which he unfolded and then draped over me.

"Here, Naomi," he said, and Gianluca reached out to adjust it.

"We have to keep you warm," he said to me. "So you don't get sick. Now tell us the story."

They waited expectantly.

I obliged, and started giving them a Cliffnotes version of the story.

"I wanted to go explore the mountains, so I did, and it began to rain, so I started to climb back down. One of the rocks I climbed on was unsteady, and I fell and got wedged in between two boulders."

"Oh, Naomi…" Gianluca murmured.

"For how long?" Ignazio asked.

"Two hours, but it felt like forever."

Gianluca pressed his hand over his eyes, and I wondered if he was going to cry. I wanted to cry too, but I was too tired.

I snuggled against him, and he rubbed his eyes and kissed my head.

"It was wet, and dirty, and cold…"

I shivered at the memory of being pinned between those two boulders, with the cold rain washing over me, and Gianluca held me tighter.

"Aw, Naomi, don't start again with the shivering," Ignazio warned.

"So how'd you get out?" Piero asked, intent on the story.

"I started kicking at one of the boulders, and eventually it moved…it was slippery on the mountainside, but then I went tumbling down too, through the mud, which is how I got all dirty."

"Hang on a sec," Gianluca said. "I have a feeling you're leaving something out."

He stared at me expectantly, and I bit my lip as I watched the realization hit him.

"You had a panic attack, didn't you?"

I nodded.

Piero crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised as he remembered the panic attack he had been present at.

Gianluca ran his hand over his face and through his hair.

"Oh my gosh, Naomi…"

Ignazio reached out and put a hand encouragingly on my knee.

"Keep going."

I nodded.

"So I was laying on the ground at the bottom, and I didn't know if I could move, but I had to because some boulders were falling toward me, so I got out the way and I fell under a tree…and I couldn't move, so I…I fell asleep."

"You fell asleep?" Piero asked in disbelief. "In the rain? After falling down a mountain?"

I nodded.

"I was just so exhausted! I still am, but…you guys won't leave me alone!"

"Just finish telling us what happed," Gianluca said. "Then you can sleep."

I yawned and nodded, gripping the soft fabric of his shirt under the blanket, and he brushed my hair out of my face.

"So when I woke up, I was thinking about, well…Gianluca mostly."

I looked up at him.

"…and how you don't like me to go out on my own, and about how you must be worried about me, and I somehow managed to get up, and I got the bike, and I came home."

"Just like that?" Piero asked. "You just rode home?"

"No, it was very…nightmarish. I didn't want to move, and I was tired and achy and cold, but…I knew I needed to get back. I fell a few times, and I didn't think I'd ever be able to get back up, but I did…and here I am."

Gianluca took my head and held it tightly in his.

"Oh my gosh!" Piero said in disbelief. "I can't believe you walked home after all of that!"  
"You're amazing, Naomi," Ignazio said, nodding in agreement at Piero, and I looked up at Gianluca, who looked heartbroken at hearing all of this.

"Can I sleep now? Please? It's all I want right now."

"Yes, Naomi. Sleep."

"Here?"

"Yes. I'll carry you upstairs after everyone gets back and sees that you're okay."

"Do you care that they'll see you holding me?"

He shook his head.

"There's _no way_ I'm letting go of you."

He kissed my head, then whispered something to Piero and Ignazio, and they started to sing softly.

Wow…

They were singing Constantemente Mia, and it was, of course, stunningly beautiful. I fell asleep quickly, safe and warm in Gianluca's strong, steady grasp.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Someone caressed my chin, and ran their hands up the side of my face and through my hair, then went back down to hold my head in their hands.

My eyes fluttered open to see Gianluca sitting cross-legged on the mattress above me. I was lying on my back, my feet dangling off the end of the bed, and my side was against the cool wall, giving him plenty of room to sit with me.

"Good morning," he whispered, leaning over me to kiss me upside-down.

The room was bright.

"What time is it?" I whispered, rubbing my eyes.

"Almost nine."

"That's weird. I hardly ever sleep this late."

"I know," he said. "I was worried. I kept getting up to check on you all throughout the night, and I set an alarm to be up when you got up, but you didn't."

"What did my mom say when she got back last night?"

"Not much, really. She was just glad you were okay, and she said she should expect things like that to happen sometimes, with a crazy child like yourself. You were asleep, and you looked like an angel. If she would've seen you when you got back, she…I don't know, it just wouldn't have been good. She said I did a good job of taking care of you."

"You did. Well, aside from not letting me sleep at first."

He caressed my cheek.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to let you sleep, I really did! But you know I needed to find out what happened."

"Yeah, I know."

I yawned and closed my eyes again, and he leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"So I guess you're not going out today?"

"No, I am."

"What!?"

I smiled.

"I love the outdoors, Gianluca. What happened last night isn't going to stop me from exploring."

"You're crazy, Naomi," he said.

"I know."

"And I'm going with you."

"Yeah, okay. But I'd just like to remind you that I did get myself out of the situation last night. I got myself unstuck, and I came home after."

He was quiet for a moment.

"I'm very proud of you, Naomi. It must have been so hard to get home in your condition. I'm upset I couldn't find you, because you wouldn't have had to get yourself home. But sweetheart, next time you might not be able to save yourself."

"Yeah, okay…"

I kicked the covers off of my legs and stretched, feeling achy, and Gianluca moved over a little and lay down next to me.

"Naomi, you scared me so bad last night."

I watched him quietly, then reached out for his face, "I'm sorry, Gianluca."

He took my hand and held it to his heart.

"I didn't know where you were, or what was happening to you. I was imagining all these horrible things that could be going wrong!"

He shivered.

"Oh Gianluca…"

"We made a search party, and I had no idea where to look! I went to the beach, and the theatre, and I walked around in the rain calling you…and I was terrified!"

I was quiet, watching him watching me.

"When I saw you coming home, I was so exited and relieved, until I realized that you were cold, and dirty, and so tired…I didn't know if you were okay, and I was really scared and desperate to hold you and make sure you were okay! And you were shaking, and freezing, and begging me to let you sleep, and I couldn't, not while you were so cold and dirty…"

I saw tears swimming in his eyes, the emotions that he probably suppressed for my sake last night arising.

He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers.

"I'm sorry, Gianluca! I shouldn't have left without my phone."

"And without me!"

"Oh, Gianluca…"

"Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"

I nodded, and he reached out to me and pulled me to him, clutching me to his chest for several minutes. At last he released me and smiled weakly at me.

"So how do you feel?"

"Honestly, like someone has beaten me up."

His hand brushed my shoulder, and I winced and sat up, pulling out of his grasp.

He sat up too.

"What? What did I do, Naomi?"

I pulled my sleeve over my shoulder, revealing deep cuts from the boulder. I reached gingerly for the side of my chest, where the other boulder had been, and I felt some more. I looked down at my legs, which were covered in bruises and scrapes, and looked pretty horrible. I returned my attention to the scrapes.

Gianluca watched me, then reached out and carefully pulled down my sleeve.

"I'll get you some medicine for that."

"Thank you, Gianluca."

He reached out to hug me.

I looked up at him and he kissed me, then he sat back and his expression suddenly changed.

"Oh my gosh, Naomi! You didn't have dinner last night, did you?"

"No."

"I should have made you something when you came home!"

I shook my head.

"I didn't want to eat, Gianluca. I just wanted to sleep."

"Well, do you want to go out for breakfast now? How about a picnic in Abruzzo?"

I smiled.

"Yes, please!"

He stood up.

"Get dressed. I'll get breakfast."

"I eat fruit for breakfast."

"Fine. Fruit it is, then."

I got dressed, rather slowly because of the achiness, and went downstairs, and my mom greeted me by saying, "Ah, look, she comes."

I smiled sheepishly and kissed her cheek.

"Mom, I'm so sorry about last night!"

"Okay, Naomi, the rule is: If you don't have your phone, you can't go out, got it?"

I nodded. I wasn't exactly in a position to protest. I stood behind the counter to hide my battered legs from her, and I was glad the cuts from the boulders could be so easily hidden.

Gianluca appeared beside me and offered me his arm.

"I'm taking her for a picnic," he told my mother.

She nodded.

"Take care of her, Gianluca."

"I won't let her out of my sight."

He led me to the car and we went to a tall grassy hill, where he laid out a blanket and then dumped out a sack of all different kinds of fruit.

Apples, bananas, kiwi, grapes, oranges, pomegranates, strawberries, cherries…the whole shebang.

"Woah."

"I went shopping yesterday."

"Geez."

I reached for a pomegranate first, and looked over the fields and forests laid out around us.

"I love Abruzzo," I sighed.

"Even after last night?"

"Even after last night."

He reached for an orange, and when he was finished, he sat behind me and wrapped his hands around my middle, his legs on either side of me.

"I want you to tell me about…everything," he sighed.

"What are you talking about?" I laughed.

"I want to learn everything there is to know about you. I want to hear you tell me stories, and I want to hear your opinion on everything, your likes and dislikes, everything…"

"Hmm…where should I begin?"

"Start with telling me about high school."

"Well…I didn't like it. It's not like I didn't like the classes or teachers, and I had friends, but…I felt cooped up. I always wanted to be exploring, or reading, or writing a story, and at school, I couldn't. So I would sit around and dream about the story I was writing at the time, and dream about nature…and just dream all day, until I could get home and live those dreams. My friends were used to my daydreaming, and they would always shove me before they talked to me, because I was usually a little zoned out."

"Any guys?"

"Well, a few…usually they were guys I wasn't too into, but they were persistent, so I went out with them and such. But we usually split up because they didn't understand my dreaming, and some of them broke up with me because of the panic attacks."

"Because of the panic attacks? That's not a good reason."

"Well, whatever. It just made me realize that they weren't the right guys for me. I need a guy who understands my panic attacks…Like you, Gianluca."

I could feel him smiling, and I reached out for a kiwi.

"Hey, I know! I'll tell you some stories about my explorations."

So I told him about the time a dog followed me around for an hour and then I had to bring it home, the time I found a stolen suitcase, the time when I found a traveling circus and they thought I was a runaway who wanted to join, and about the time I ran away and camped out in the woods, until the tent collapsed because I set it up wrong.

I had him laughing at my stories, and his smile was absolutely precious.

I just kept talking, telling him all my childhood stories, and about my writing accomplishments, and about my dreams for the future.

"I want my writing to inspire people, like J.K Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Lois Lowry, John Green…"

"Can I read some of your stories?" he asked.

"Absolutely! What are you into?"

"I like success stories. Stories about the underdogs that beat all odds and become top dogs."

I nodded.

"Like Il Volo's story?"

"If you could call it that."

"I would." Then I nodded, peeling an orange. "I have some stories like that."

"Really?"

"Like I said, I write about anything and everything."

"Are you writing a story right now?"

"I've been jotting down some ideas."

"What ideas?"

"It's a romance."

"Oh, is it? Inspired by any real life situation?"

He pulled me close to him and kissed my neck from behind.

I giggled. "Possibly."

He smiled, and we were quiet for several minutes.

"Gianluca, do you want to know about my dad?"

He was quiet for a moment.

"If you want to tell me."

"I will… He was a great man, and I loved him, and my mom loved him. When I was five we lived on a street where the houses were too close together. It was probably illegal, for them to be so close, but no one did anything about it."

I turned to sit facing him.

"Gianluca, do you why houses can't be too close together?"

I could tell he was scared to say it.

"Fire hazard?"

I nodded.

"Naomi…"

He opened his hands to me, and I took them.

I continued with the story as he raised them to his lips.

"Someone's house caught on fire, and that fire started fires in other houses. We left my house just in case it would catch on fire. I was only five years old, watching all those houses burn and collapse. I started to get a good idea of when they would collapse, because a lot of them did. They were somewhat antique houses, I guess, older and weaker. I remember it vividly, the heat, the flames, my mom holding me and singing something to me to keep me calm, but she was terrified too. The nearest fire station was…slow, I guess, or having complications, because they took forever to come."

Gianluca silently, solemnly watched me tell the horrid story.

"Everyone was evacuating the houses, and there was an old woman in one of them. Everyone assumed that someone else had helped her out, but no one had. Her house caught on fire, and we heard her calling. My dad ran in there to get her out, and…the roof collapsed. He died on impact."

Gianluca reached for my face, and I leaned my cheek against his hand.

"He was a hero! Even if he didn't save her…he laid down his life to _try_ to save her. It was…horrific, knowing my daddy was gone, and seeing my mom cry for him."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Naomi! I can't- I don't- I think- I-"

I kissed him to stop his babbling.

"I'm sorry too. It was really sad. But I'm okay, and my mom's okay, too."

We stared at each other, and then he reached out to hug me.

When I pulled back, we were both quiet, thinking, looking out at Abruzzo. I looked at him and smiled, and he smiled too.

"Can we go swimming today?" I asked suddenly. "At the beach?"

"We can, if you're not too weak."

"I'm fine, Gianluca."

"You're pretty bruised up," he said, peering at the bruises and cuts on my legs, and I pulled them in to my chest.

"They'll fade eventually. So are you done learning about me now?"

"No," he said, "But I guess we can stop for the moment, if you're out of things to tell me."

I stood.

"Let's go!" I said, hurriedly putting the rest of the fruit back in the bag.

"Right now?"

"Yes! Why wait?"

He stood, and we went home to change, holding hands and swinging our arms.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I put on my green swimsuit top and put on my jean shorts instead of swimsuit bottoms. I'm a fan of boyshort-styled bottoms, and cute ones are hard to find.

I put on a cover-up and my flip-flops, and skipped downstairs to meet Gianluca, who had on black swim trunks.

"Let's go!" I said, slipping my hand into his and pulling him outside.

"We're going to the beach!" Gianluca called to our parents.

Ignazio was walking down the pathway to his house in the distance.

"Hey!" he called, "Where you guys going!?"

"To the beach!" I called back. "Want to come!?"  
"Sure! Can we bring Piero so I'm not a third wheel?"

I laughed.

"Yes, Ignazio!"

I tugged on Gianluca's hand.

"Let's go get him."

We went into Piero's house and found him stretched out on the couch, his Beats headphones over his ears, staring at the ceiling.

I crept up to him and took off the headphones.

He jumped, and then smiled up at me.

"Hey, Naomi."

"I can see that you're having a party in here by yourself, but I wanted to ask you to come with us to the beach."

He laughed and nodded.

"Okay, I'm coming."

He and Ignazio went to change, and then we left, going on foot.

"So what do we do first?" Gianluca asked me when we got there.

I pulled off my cover-up and tossed it on the sand, running off to the water.

I ran through it and it sprayed up all around me, and I kept running and eventually started swimming until the water was up to my chest.

Fish brushed against me, and I bobbed down to get my hair wet.

I stood there blissfully, feeling the cool waters swirl around me and the breeze on my face. I cupped my hands in the water and splashed it over my face, smiling.

There was just something about being here…in the water, out in nature. There's something about the power of the world around me, as if it knows about me and has decided to allow me to stand here for a while, unharmed.

I moved my toes around in the sand on the bottom and shielded my eyes to look up at the clouds.

There was a splashing behind me, and after a moment Gianluca was beside me, watching me happily take in my surroundings.

I turned and started to walk slowly through the water to the beach. Having experienced the water, I wanted to get into the sand.

Gianluca quietly followed me, letting me explore.

I reached the part of the beach where the water reaches the sand, I stood there, closing my eyes, feeling the water rush over and then away from my feet, almost pulling me back out to sea with it.

Gianluca stood beside me, watching me.

I turned and went back to the sand, dragging my feet through it and feeling its warmth. It stuck to my wet feet. I stooped and picked up a handful, then let it sift through my fingers. I scooped up another and went back to the sea, placing my hands in the water to feel the sand thicken and flow out of my hands.

I stood and the breeze rustled my curls, quietly whispering its affection to me.

I turned to Gianluca, feeling very at peace.

He smiled and reached out to hug me, and he kissed me softly when I looked up at him.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I love this. Being out in nature, exploring."

He smiled.

"You are so…amazing, Naomi."

I smiled and turned to see Piero and Ignazio sitting in the sand, building castles. Piero had his beats on his ears. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Come on, Gianluca," I said, "I'm going to give you a mermaid tail."

"A what?"

We went over to Piero and Ignazio, and I told Gianluca to sit and stretch out his legs. He did, and I started to pack the sand around them.

"Oh, a mermaid tail!" Ignazio said. "My little cousins used to always make me get one."

I laughed.

"I bet you were a beautiful mermaid, Ignazio. Come and help me."

He dramatically pretended to toss long hair over his shoulder, and I laughed. He came over, and I looked over at Piero, who was calmly pressing stones into a mound of sand. He smiled at me and moved his headphones to hang around his neck.

"So," he said. "What would you guys say to going fishing?"

"I think it sounds fun," Ignazio said.

"I'm in," Gianluca said, "I bet my mother could cook up something wonderful with our catches."

"If you catch anything," I teased them, and they made faces at me.

Ignazio and I finished up the tail, and we called Piero over to use his stone-decorating skills on the tail.

We all stood back to take pictures of it, and I sent them to Gianluca's phone.

To the amusement of Piero and I, Ignazio posted it on twitter for the fans to admire.

Then we let Gianluca get up, and we went off to charter a boat to fish on.

As we drove out into the sea, I lay on the side of the boat and dangled my fingers in the water, content to feel it flying up in between them.

I remained like this while they fished, and they actually caught a lot.

"What are you doing, Naomi?" Gianluca asked me, sitting on the side of the boat with his pole to hook some bait.

"Oh, I'm just…daydreaming."

He smiled crookedly, and left me to it.

Fish came up to nibble my fingers, and I smiled, then nudged them as a fair warning to swim away before the boys could catch them.

I listened quietly to the boys teasing each other as they hooked fish and lost others, and when Piero made Ignazio lose a big catch, they wrestled and Ignazio pushed him in the water.

Piero came back to the side of the boat and grabbed Ignazio's shirt, pulling him in after him.

Then they both came up to pull Gianluca in, who yelled protests in Italian.

I laughed at them, but remained still. I have learned that there is a difference between being quiet and still. Quiet is not talking. Stillness is an inward quiet, a peace... This is what I felt in nature, a joyful calmness, sometimes more peaceful than others.

The guide of the boat helped to pull the three spluttering boys back in and I watched happily, laughing softly to myself, running my fingers back and forth through the water.

I sat up and dipped my feet in the sea as we rode back to the beach, watching the water fly up.

Gianluca sat next to me and watched me.

Ignazio sat on my other side, peeling off his shirt and wringing it out, with a playful glare at Piero.

"You've been very quiet, Naomi."

I nodded.

"It's very peaceful out here."

"You look very peaceful," Gianluca said. "I wish I could feel the peace you're feeling. But my brain is very…busy all the time."

I smiled.

"I'll show you," I said. "Later."

He squinted at me, but I didn't elaborate.

The four of us returned home for lunch, and Gianluca ate leftovers from the fridge and handed the fish over to Mrs. Ginoble, who promised to make a fish broth for dinner.

When it started to get late, and the sun was about to set, I went to find Gianluca. He was on his laptop in his room, and I took it from him and closed it.

"Come on," I said, reaching down to help him up.

"Where are we going?"

"Put on your swim trunks again."

I left to put on my jean shorts again, and then we left to go back to the beach, this time in the car.

"What are we doing?" he asked when we arrived.

I took his hand and led him to the place where the water met the sand, and there we sat crossed-legged.

"Just feel it," I said, "The water, the power of it…"

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, and the breeze welcomed me back. The waves rushed over our legs and then ran back into the sea, pulling at us.

"It feels like…it's pulling me out to sea…" Gianluca said softly.

"Yes, it does," I said. "I like to think that it could, if it wanted to, but it's letting us stay here."

"That's beautiful," he said. "I need to write that down."

"No," I said, smiling, "Just experience it."

We sat there until the sun disappeared completely and it was dark on the beach.

Then I opened my eyes and stretched, and stood.

Gianluca stayed sitting, eyes closed, hands in the sand.

I leaned down and softly kissed his cheek, and he opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"Time for us to go," I said.

"Do we have to? This is so wonderful!"

I smiled.

"It's dark now. Think of the fish broth waiting for us back home."

He stood and reached his hands around my waist, and pulled me close to him, resting his forehead against mine.

"Thank you, Naomi. For showing this to me. It feels…amazing, and so…still."

"Good, that's what I going for!"

He took my face in his hands and kissed me softly, then we started to walk to the car.

He was in a sort of trance, and he seemed so content. I enjoyed watching the sweet, peaceful look on his face.

"Ti amo, Gianluca."

He smiled down at me, and wrapped an arm warmly around my shoulders, kissing my cheek.

"Ti, amo, my sweetheart."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I read a few chapters of To Kill A Mockingbird alone in my guestroom, then I closed the book and went to Gianluca's room.

He was on the floor with Ignazio's page of the notepad in his hand. In his other was a pen, and he tapped it on his chin as he stared at another notepad on his knee with Italian words scrawled on it.

"Are you writing a song?" I asked.

He looked up and smiled crookedly.

"Trying to. Ignazio's the lyric writing one of us."

I went over to sit next to him, and he put the stuff down and reached out his arm to me, pulling me close to him so he could wrap his other arm around me also. He was very gentle and firm, and he smelled really good, that warm boyish scent.

He moved to kick the notepad and papers away from us, then he pulled me onto his lap. He stretched out his legs and I sat on his thighs, facing him.

He reached out to touch my face, and then kissed me, his hand moving down to rest on my back.

My hands were resting on his shoulders, and I slipped them down to rest on his chest.

When I pulled away, he took my hands from his chest and pulled them to his lips, closing his eyes as he kissed them. He released them and I wrapped them around his neck, leaning my forehead to touch his.

He smiled crookedly up at me.

"Naomi, you are so wonderful," he whispered.

I smiled and glanced down at his lips, and he kissed me again, then moved me off of his lap and sat me on the ground.

He stood and bent down to me, offering me his hands.

"Naomi, will you dance with me?"

"Dance with you? I guess so, if you sing."

He smiled, and I placed my hands in his. He pulled me up and then took out his phone to put on an Il Volo song called "Questo Amore." It's the Italian version of "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing", and it's a very beautiful and romantic song.

He placed the phone on the desk and then put a hand around my waist, and I put a hand on his shoulder. He held out his other hand and I took it, stepping up close to him so that our faces were almost touching.

We started to rock back and forth, and he began to sing with the recording, "_Gaurdi con quell'aria capricciosa. I tuoi occhi ruberei…la mia anima darei…"_

I quietly watched him singing, watched his lips moving as he sang, and listened to the beautiful words.

When he reached the Italian chorus, I joined in softly with the English version, and he looked surprised and exited that I was singing with him. I'm not a great singer, but I'm okay, and personally, I thought our voices sounded pretty good together. It was wonderful singing with him, our English and Italian blending.

_"…Don't wanna close my eyes…I don't wanna fall asleep 'cuz I'd miss you babe…"_

_ "…Lo devo solo a te…Questo amore splendido…"_

_ "The sweetest dream will never do, I'd still miss you, babe…"_

_ "Lo devo solo a te…"_

He held my hand to his heart as we sang, gazing at me, a faint smile on his lips.

The song ended and he kissed me, and then I led him back to where he had been sitting, stooping to pick up the notepad he was writing on.

I read over the unfamiliar words, and then held it out to him.

"Can you tell me what they mean?"

He sat, and I sat next to him.

"Not yet," he said, "I'm still working on it."

"But you read me the song about Italy."

"Yes, but that's Ignazio's lyrics. I'm writing this one, and I'm hiding it until it's done."

"Such a perfectionist," I commented, and he smiled.

"Yeah, I get told that a lot."

He started jotting things down on the pad, and I got his phone from the desk and held it, staring at it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Nothing."

I was wondering about turning off the alarm. Normally I wouldn't hesitate to do it, but…the way he treated me when I got home from the mountain yesterday. He held me so tightly, and he was cold, and tired, and scared for me, and he didn't want me to leave the house without him anymore.

I watched him as he stuck the end of the pen in his mouth, thinking, his thick eyebrows furrowing as he pondered over words to write.

I turned off the alarm.

I can decide if I'll leave or not in the morning.

"Naomi?" he said.

"What?"

"Give me your phone."

I did.

"Why?"

"I heard your mom say that you can't leave without your phone, right?"

He put it in his pocket.

"Yes."

"Well, now you always know where your phone is, and I always know where you are."

It's as if he knew what I had been thinking, but he didn't reach for his phone. I looked away, and he reached out to gently turn my face back to his.

"I just want you to be safe, Naomi," he whispered.

I nodded somberly, and he kissed my cheek.

"Don't leave without me, Naomi, please?"

I leaned against him, unsure of how to answer. He wrapped an arm around me and held me tight, closing his eyes and pressing his lips to my neck.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I was still a little achy, but I rolled out of bed early and crept downstairs. I ate a quick breakfast, then raced out the front door and down the porch steps…and froze when I saw Gianluca's tennis shoes at the bottom.

I looked down at the bruises on my legs and pictured Gianluca, cold and tired from searching for me.

I pictured the beach, the mountains, the forests and fields, and smiled and inhaled, ready to go out and lose myself in them.

_"I'm sorry, Gianluca. I shouldn't have left without my phone."_

_ "And without me."_

_ "Oh, Gianluca…"_

_ "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"_

Oh, man…what was going on?

I sat on the steps, longing to go out, but not wanting to upset Gianluca. He didn't want me to leave without him, because he was worried about me.

But I didn't want him to be scared for me all the time!

The wind was calling me, and the internal battle raged.

Maybe if I picked a place to go to, and then left him a note... But I still needed to get my phone…

I stared longingly into the distance, itching to leave, my feet pleading to run.

_"Naomi, you scared me so bad last night…I didn't know where you were, or what was happening to you. I was imagining all these horrible things that could be going wrong!"_

I rubbed my eyes and held my head in my hands.

My heart wanted to go out and be alive in nature, but then my heart also listened to the words of Gianluca, being pulled in two directions, unsure of what to do.

I sighed, and looked up at the sky, a breeze rustling my curls.

_"I just want you to be safe, Naomi," he whispered._

_ "Don't leave without me, Naomi, please?"_

I slowly turned to go back inside, unsure of myself.

I raced up the stairs, and quietly entered Gianluca's room.

He was laying on his back, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed, the other over his eyes.

I went to sit next to him on the mattress.

"Gianluca?" I whispered.  
He moved his hand, saw me next to him, saw the sun coming through the window…

He sat up quickly.

"What, Naomi? What's going on?"

He reached for my hands, confused, oblivious to my internal struggling. I was looking wistfully out the window.

"What's wrong?"

I looked into his handsome eyes and admitted defeat.

"Can we go out now?"

"Can we…? Naomi, I don't understand what's going on."

I was quiet, and he got up to get his phone.

He turned to me, looking confused.

"You turned off the alarm again?"

I nodded.

"Yet you're still here…Oh, Naomi!"

He smiled brightly as the realization that I had stayed set in, and he sat next to me on the bed, reaching out to hug me.

"You didn't leave!"

"No, I didn't…" I said quietly.

He took me gently by the shoulders and looked into my eyes.

"Alright, Naomi, you don't have to wait any longer! Let's go!"

We went out walking, and arrived at a huge forest with very tall, climbable trees. I pulled my hand out of Gianluca's and climbed one, and then started jumping from tree to tree, giggling with excitement.

Gianluca ran along at the bottom, calling for me to be careful.

"I've never fallen from a tree before!" I called down.

"Well, I don't want this to be the first time, then!"

I usually enjoyed Gianluca's company, but today, I just wanted to run and explore and disappear for a while. He didn't go exploring like me, and he couldn't completely grasp my longings for nature.

Gianluca was a noisy hiker, and he scared away the little forest creatures as he trodded on roots and dead leaves. I was fast for him too, and he panted and chased after me.

I jumped down and stood in front of him, making him jump.

"Gianluca, would you _try _to be quiet?"

He smiled.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

As I explored, or tried to, I often found myself alone, and then Gianluca would call me and I'd have to go back and find him.

This exploration just wasn't as fun as I imagined it should be, and I eventually took his hand so we could walk back home. I looked back at the forest, still wanting to run and explore, but knowing Gianluca wouldn't be able to keep up with me. The excitement was gone.

I was quiet as we walked, and Gianluca watched me.

Then he stopped, and I turned to him.

He looked concerned, and he tilted his head and gazed at me.

"Naomi, are you mad at me? Because I don't want you to go out by yourself?"

I shook my head and tried to answer honestly without upsetting him.

"No, I just… I just wish you'd let me go out and not feel as if you have to come and protect me."

"Oh, Naomi…"

"Oh, Gianluca…"

He started walking again, and we went home in silence, with me wanting to go back out and explore, and him worrying about me running off without him and getting hurt.

I don't think either of us were very happy at the moment.

Gianluca went off to practice with Piero and Ignazio at Piero's house, and I hung around the Ginoble house, giving myself things to do until after lunch. Then I went over to find the boys, hoping they weren't rehearsing anything too top-secret.

They were working on the music for the song about Italy, but mostly playing around, and they were trying to throw crumpled papers of lyrics into the trash can in the kitchen when I arrived. I went around to the back of the couch, and fell backwards so that I was sitting upside-down, my feet in the air.

Ignazio, who was next to me, laughed and they all watched me, waiting for me to say something.

"Sitting right-side up is overrated," I said, and the three of them laughed.

"I'm BOREEDDDD!" I explained.

"I see," Ignazio said, and Piero handed me his iPod and his Beats, which I gratefully slid over my ears, and went in search of his Il Volo music.

They kept harmonizing, and I listened to the whole Il Volo "We Are Love" album, and then started to dream of the outdoors.

I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind, knowing Gianluca wouldn't go out with me now that they were practicing, and he wouldn't want me to go out by myself. I tried to ignore the longings, but they overwhelmed me.

I tumbled backwards off the couch and handed Piero his Beats. I went out onto the porch, and sat, staring longingly into the distance, at the mountains.

_Oh, I just wanted to go and explore! Why couldn't Gianluca understand!? I could take care of myself! I knew that I'd be okay if I went, yet I stayed on the porch, held down by love._

The internal struggle began again, with my love of nature and my love for Gianluca pushing and pulling at each other.

_"I'm sorry, Gianluca. I shouldn't have left without my phone."_

_ "And without me."_

_ "Oh, Gianluca…"_

_ "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"_

Abruzzo called to me, inviting me to lose myself in it, but I stayed put.

I rested my head in my hands, unsure of what to do or what to think, not wanting to stay and not wanting to leave.

I was surprised to find tears of frustration spring to my eyes and I tugged at my hair, feeling pathetic.

How do I satisfy this longing for nature without worrying Gianluca?  
For several minutes I knelt, my mind and heart ablaze and contending.

The door opened behind me, and Gianluca walked down the porch steps to stand in front of me.

I looked up at him, and then avoided his gaze, swiping at my eyes. He looked down at me, concerned. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"You want to go out?"

I was quiet, because if I said yes he would feel as if he had to go with me, and he wouldn't be able to keep up if I went romping through Abruzzo to my heart's content.

"I know that I can't keep up with you, Naomi. I'm sorry about that." he said, and I looked up in surprise.

We stared at each other. He looked strange, a little somber, but thoughtful.

"I see that this trip is not going to be much fun for you if I… chain you up like this."

I was quiet, unsure of what he was doing.

He came to kneel in front of me, and took my hands, pulling them to his chest. He leaned into me and tenderly kissed me, then rested his head against mine.

"I love you, Naomi," he whispered as he placed something in my hand. "Be careful…"

He let go, and I looked down at my phone in my hand. I sat up straight.

"You mean-?"

He stood up.

"Oh, Gianluca!"

I jumped up and threw my arms around him, and he fell backwards on the porch, smiling at me. I gave him several quick kisses, then jumped up and ran off before he could change his mind.

I went out miles into Abruzzo, just losing myself in all the life around me. For the next few hours, I was gone to humans and it was just me and the Earth around me.

Everyone talks about how the Earth is a place of suffering, and a land of tears, and I guess that it is compared to heaven. But still, God has given us a very beautiful place of waiting.

I experienced the world around me, smelling the wild flowers, spying on the creatures of Abruzzo, and even taking off my shoes to feel the warm dirt on my feet. I climbed the highest of trees to look at the land around me from above, and I tasted the water from a hidden, flowing stream.

I sat on a cluster of rocks, feeling the heat from them run through my body and my bare feet, and thought about Gianluca, at home worrying about me.

I closed my eyes and inhaled, more glad that he had let me go than he might ever know. If only he didn't worry about me, because I would always return to him.

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of me smiling on the rocks and sent it to him, in an attempt to decrease his worrying by showing him that I was fine and having fun.

_This could be a regular thing_, I thought, as I sent him the picture. I could send him occasional pictures of me to prove that I wasn't in trouble. I bet he would appreciate it.

I climbed down the rocks and started home, because it was beginning to get dark.

As I walked, I saw something shiny hanging from a tree branch, glinting in the sun.

I went up to it, reached up, and plucked it from the branch. It was a necklace of a silver eagle with outstretched wings, soaring. On the wings the words "_Il Volo_" were engraved, and on the back were the words, "_Good Luck, Gian,_" but written in Italian. I smiled and clutched it to my heart.

He must have lost it while he was looking for me the other night, and not mentioned it to me!

Oh, I'm so glad that I'll get to bring it back to him!

When I got back, I found Gianluca on the porch with Piero and Ignazio, talking.

He jumped up when he saw me coming, and walked over to meet me, reaching out to embrace me.

I looked up and kissed him, trying to convey some of my appreciation for him letting me go out by myself.

"Thank you, Gianluca," I whispered, and he nodded.

We went to the porch, and he sat down with the guys again. I pretended like I was going inside, but stopped when I passed Gianluca.

Piero and Ignazio watched me, and I held a finger to my lips.

I held out the necklace and leaned down to Gianluca, placing it around his neck.

Then I immediately went inside and peered through the window to watch him jump up, pull it off, and stare at it in awe, then turn to smile crookedly at the door I had just walked through.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The next day marked a week of my being in Abruzzo, and I went out alone for my usual early-morning walk, then returned to the Ginoble house to sit cross-legged on the couch next to my mother, reading To Kill A Mockingbird while she watched T.V.

Gianluca came down from upstairs and sat next to me.

"So, ladies," he said to my mom and I. We both looked up at him.

"I have a second cousin named Carlotta, and apparently, she is getting married tonight. She asked if Il Volo could sing at her wedding, because the person she hired for music had some sort of emergency. It's a very sudden arrangement, but we've got nothing better to do… So, tonight my parents and I, and the rest of Il Volo are going to a wedding. Would you two care to join us?"  
My mom looked at me, "I'll go if you want to go, Naomi. I think it sounds fun to see an Italian wedding."

I looked nervously back at Gianluca.

"But…Gianluca, what if I have a-"

He took my hands.

"Naomi," he said very seriously. "Listen to me. It is perfectly okay for you to have a panic attack. I won't mind, Il Volo won't mind, and Carlotta won't mind, but I don't even care if she does. There is no reason to worry, okay?"

I gazed at him for a moment, and then I nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

He smiled and reached out to hug me.

"Are you and Carlotta close?" my mom asked.

Gianluca smiled.

"Honestly, I didn't know I had a second cousin named Carlotta. But my mom says she's very sweet, and I talked to her on the phone and agreed to sing. She's paying us, and there's free food, and I can't think of a reason not to go."

"Gianluca?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"What actually is a second cousin?"  
He smiled brightly and leaned back, arms behind his head.

"Naomi, I have no idea what a second cousin is."

My mom and I laughed.

So that evening, I put on my red dress, the only one I had brought with me, and my black heels.

I put on some eye shadow and mascara, and my mom did some fancy braiding thing on my hair and gave me some pretty dangle earrings.

I went carefully down the stairs and met the boys of Il Volo at the bottom.

Gianluca offered me his arm and kissed my cheek. The three boys complimented me on my looks, and then I complimented them on their handsome suits. Ignazio and Piero struck poses, making me laugh.

Gianluca was wearing what he had worn during one of the Il Volo PBS concerts: a nice black dress shirt under a blue coat, with black dress pants and smart black shoes.

Of course, he looked amazing.

We left to go to the wedding early, and I sat with my mom and Gianluca's parents in the almost empty church while the boys set up and talked with the priest and the couple.

Then loads of people arrived, and we waited for the wedding to start. Gianluca's parents were talking to people in Italian, making me wish Gianluca had taught me more than just a few words.

I entertained myself with watching Gianluca move around the side of the altar and chat with Piero and Ignazio. He searched for me in the crowd and smiled when he spotted me. I blew him a kiss, and he blushed and took the microphone Piero handed him.

They began to sing some Italian song I've never heard before, and the wedding started. Carlotta was gorgeous, with that lovely dark hair and eyes Italians are famous for.

It was a beautiful wedding, and afterwards the crowd went off to a huge restaurant for dinner, with plans to have the partying specifically afterwards. Cards on the table showed that the three boys were to sit with us, and Gianluca sat next to me and asked how the singing was.

I kissed his cheek.

"You did amazing, Gianluca! Are you done with singing tonight?"

"No, we're singing a little after dinner, and then we're done. But you're staying to dance with me, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

The food was delicious, and after dinner, we pushed the tables against the wall and some waiters came to fold them up and take them away.

Il Volo went up to the stage and waited for their direction to start singing. All the spoken words around me were in Italian, so I took to watching Gianluca sit on a stool in the corner of the stage. When the bride and groom spoke to each other, they repeated, "Ti amo," over and over, and I was pleased to understand.

Il Volo started to sing, and I watched Gianluca, his sweet crooked smile, his motions as he sang, the way he would glace over at me as Il Volo performed.

Everyone was slow-dancing, and I sat in the back watching Gianluca sing. I wasn't the only girl not dancing with someone, though, and Piero jumped down from the stage to lead a beautiful girl in a yellow dress onto the stage to dance with him.

This inspired Ignazio to do the same, leading a bashful-looking girl in a light pink gown onto the stage.

Gianluca looked over at both of them, and then looked over at me and held up a hand as if to say, "Well, what do you think?"

I smiled and sat back in my chair, letting him know that I wasn't going to go up there on my own.

So he came down the stairs and walked across the whole room, with many of the dancing couples stopping to watch.

He came up to my chair and knelt on one knee, extending his hand to me.

I smiled and took it, and he pulled me up and led me to the stage and up the steps with him, his arm around my waist.

He held the microphone in his other hand and pulled me close by my waist, and I put my arm around his shoulder and rested the other on his chest, and we swayed back and forth as he sang "We Are Love."

When they finished, the photographers wanted to take pictures of them, so I turned to get down from the stage, and Gianluca smiled at me as my hand slipped out of his.

I went back to my mother, who smiled and nudged me.

"What did you think?"

I proceeded to gush about how sweet Gianluca was, and then the D.J. put on some loud pop music, making conversation difficult.

The boys were coming down from the stage now, and I stood up to go and meet them, but a group of girls ran up and surrounded them. I shook my head, smiling, and sat back down.

"Just go through them!" my mom yelled to me. "I'm sure he'd rather spend time with you than with them."

I smiled and shook my head.

"I don't want to take him away from his fans," I yelled. "I get so much time with him, they only want a moment!"

I watched him take quick pictures with the girls, and slowly start moving through the crowd to me.

Some girls followed him, and he came up to me, and offered me his arm, which I took.

He said something in quick Italian to the girls, and I caught my name.

They nodded and said different things to me in Italian.

Gianluca smiled down at me.

"They are saying hello, and that it is nice to meet you, and that you look beautiful.

"How do I say thank you?"

"Gratzi."

I smiled at the girls.

"Gratzi!"

They nodded at me and then left us alone, which confirmed that Gianluca had told them I was his girlfriend.

Gianluca turned to me and took my hands.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked, and I nodded, stopping to kick off my heels.

We ran out into the crowd to dance, and passed the group of girls fawning over Piero and Ignazio.

It was a lot of fun dancing with him, watching him be silly and sing pop songs.

We danced to song after song, and at a little past eleven, the party started to wind down. A guy who was about Gianluca's age came up to talk to us in Italian, and Gianluca turned to me to explain.

"This is my cousin Leone, and he's asking us if we want to go to his house for a while. Will you go with me?"

I was a little tired, but the eager look in his eyes persuaded me.

"Sure, Gianluca."

He smiled and we went to ask our parents, who allowed us to go, with Gianluca's parents offering many kind words on Leone's behalf to my mother. Our parents went home in a cab, so that they could leave us the car, and after we pulled Piero and Ignazio away from the girls, we went to the gathering. It was a pretty small group of teenage Ginoble family members and friends, and they moved all the furniture aside in the living room so they could dance.

"Will you dance with me?" Gianluca asked, and I indulged him, forgetting my sleepiness.

We danced and danced and danced…

After each dance, Gianluca begged, "One more?"

At about one in the morning, Ignazio and Piero decided to go home.

"What guys, are there not enough girls here?" I teased them, and they stuck out their tongues and hugged me good-night, then left in a cab to leave us the car.

I wanted somewhat to leave too, because it was so late, but seeing Gianluca so happy persuaded me to stay and keep dancing with him.

Someone brought some wine, and they handed Gianluca a glass.

"Would you care to try?" he asked, holding out the glass to me.

Sight of the drink made me a little uneasy.

"You're allowed to drink?"

He watched me quietly.

"Sure, Naomi. In Abruzzo you can drink from the age of sixteen, but if it makes you nervous I don't have to drink any."

"No it's fine, Gianluca. Just don't…you know."

He pressed his lips to my temple.

"Naomi, I have never gotten drunk before, nor do I intend to. In Abruzzo, wine is more of a treat than an actual drink. Would you want to try a sip?"

I took the glass from him and cautiously sipped it.

I made a face. It was bitter and it burned my mouth. Still, I tried another sip to taste it again, drinking a bit more this time. I shook my head and handed him the glass.

"Naomi, this is Italian wine! It's the best there is!"

I scrunched up my nose.

"I don't like the taste, but it makes me feel warm and tingly inside…but then, that might just be you."

He blushed and then took my hand, leaning in to kiss me.

We sat on the couch as Gianluca sipped the wine, while he spoke in Italian to his cousins. I caught my name a few times.

After he finished the wine, Gianluca persuaded me to dance with him some more, but after a few songs, I flopped down onto the couch. It was almost three A.M., and I was exhausted.

"No more, Gianluca!" I said, when he sat next to me, "No more; I'm exhausted!"

He kissed my cheek.

"Okay, okay. Do you want to go home now?"

I nodded, and we said goodbye to everyone, _"Arrivederci!"_

In the car, I moved to rub my eyes, but then stopped because I remembered I was wearing makeup. Gianluca was singing an Italian pop song, and bobbing his head to be silly, and I giggled and leaned back against the seat, turning my head away to gaze at the mountains bathed in moonlight.

When we got home, I went upstairs and took off my makeup, changed into pajamas, undid whatever my mom had done to my hair, and then sleepily padded downstairs to collect my heels.

Gianluca was wearing a thin gray T-shirt and sweatpants, and was hanging up his blue coat in the closet. I sat on the couch and stretched and yawned.

"You okay?" he asked, quietly shutting the closet door.

"I'm just tired. I can't believe it's three A.M.!" I said, leaning back on the couch.

Gianluca came to sit next to me, looking at something on his phone.

"Look," he said, handing it to me. "Ignazio sent it to me."

It was a picture of Gianluca and me dancing at the wedding, with him holding the microphone, so it was during Il Volo's performance. There was a short article under it, but it was in Italian.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"It says that Gianluca Ginoble has an American girlfriend that he convinced to come with him to Abruzzo, and that the couple is thinking of buying a cottage by the beach and living here together."

I laughed.

"Does it really say that?"  
He smiled.

"It does! It's an Abruzzo tabloid. No one will believe it, though. I'm surprised they got even a tiny sliver of information correct."

He put his phone on the coffee table and I scooted close to him, leaning my head on his chest. He put his arm around me, and after a moment moved sideways to lie on the couch, his head on the armrest, with me against the back of the couch, against him.

"Well…" I said, yawning, gingerly placing my palm on his chest, "If I'm going to live in Abruzzo permanently, then you're going to need to teach me more Italian."

He smiled.

"So do you care that you're in a tabloid, then?"

"Will people recognize me?"  
"Maybe."

"Will they take pictures of me?"  
"Maybe, but probably not. Unless you're with me, then they might. But I don't think the people of Abruzzo are _that _interested in the private life Il Volo."

"Actually, I bet they are, but okay."

"So what did you think of tonight?"  
"It was really fun, Gianluca. You're a lot fun to dance with!"

"Ah, good! I made you do quite a bit of dancing tonight, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. I might not even get up at sunrise, which is in, what, a few minutes?"

He laughed.

"It's three A.M. You have some time before sunrise. Stay here with me until then."

"I will…," I said softly, lulled into quiet by his scent and by the steady rise and fall of his chest. I closed my eyes, and he kissed the top of my head.

The air conditioner kicked on, and I got goose bumps as the air blew over me.

Gianluca moved a little, and I heard him opening the chest next to the couch.

I felt something soft touch my legs, and I opened my eyes a little to see Gianluca drape a blanket over me.

I snuggled up to him, tucking my head under his chin. His hand was on my back, and he moved it to brush my hair out of my face.

I was warm and so comfortable, and happy and exhausted, and I drifted to sleep against Gianluca.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

***Gianluca's Point of View**

I woke to the sound of my mother coming downstairs. She smiled when she saw Naomi snuggled against me, then said that she had some shopping to do and left. My dad came down about a half an hour later, told me he had some errands to run, and left also.

Naomi's mother came downstairs to get some coffee and her laptop from the dining room, and then smiled at me.

"Did you guys have fun?" she whispered, and I nodded.

She nodded approvingly and went back upstairs, gazing sweetly at her sleeping daughter.

So now it was just Naomi and I. I looked down at her, admiring her loose brown curls, long lashes, the shape of her lips and nose. She moved a little and her hand, which she used to clutch the blanket to her chin, opened and rested on my chest, making me feel warm and bubbly inside.

I smiled and listened to her quiet breaths. She was just so…perfect. I heard someone coming up the porch steps, and I turned to see Ignazio reaching to knock.

I quickly held up my hand so that he would see me, then I pressed a finger to my lips. I motioned for him to come in, that the door was unlocked, and he quietly opened and shut it, coming to sit on a chair across from the couch.

"Gosh, she's sleeping late today," he said, motioning to Naomi. "Usually I hear her run past my window at sunrise."

"Yeah," I said, "But can you blame her? I kept her out pretty late last night."

"How late?"  
I smiled sheepishly.

"We got back at about three."

"Geez, Gianluca! Then why are you up?"  
I motioned to him, and he laughed softly.

"I'm just kidding. I woke up when my mom came downstairs."

"You let your mom see you cuddling with Naomi?"

"She doesn't care. And how am I going to let Naomi go? Look at her, she's so beautiful!"

"Aw, how romantic!" he said, making a sarcastic kissy face.

I grabbed Naomi's heel from the floor and pretended like I was going to throw it at him. He chuckled, and I dropped the shoe back onto the floor, making Naomi stir a little. I froze apologetically, and she stayed still, so I looked back to Ignazio, waiting to hear why he came over.

"Piero and I were texting about the four of us going to eat breakfast together," Ignazio said.

"I don't think so," I said. "When Naomi wakes up she'll want to go exploring."

He nodded, and then said, "How about just the three amigos then?"

I thought for a second, then nodded.

"Sure, I guess so. I'll take my mind off of Naomi's exploring. Just wait for her to wake up before we go."

We were quiet, looking at Naomi as if expecting her to jump up at any second.

I thought out loud to Ignazio, "It terrifies me to let her go exploring by herself, but I don't want to…tie her down, you know?"

He nodded, and we were quiet.

"What do you think, Ignazio? Am I just being weak, letting her go out by herself?"  
He shook his head.

"I think you're doing the right thing, Gianluca. I mean, we all saw her sitting on the porch the other day, heartbroken because she couldn't go out. I think it's very good of you to let her go. But I also think it's okay for you to worry. Not many girls like to disappear for hours every day like her, you know?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Ignazio."

He nodded and started throwing and catching his phone.

"Text me about breakfast, okay?"

I nodded, and he left.

I went back to gazing at Naomi, and after about twenty minutes, she reached up her hand to rub her eyes, and then she looked up at me, and smiled sleepily.

"Good morning beautiful," I said.

She lay there a minute, eyes open, just staying quietly against me.

She stretched, and then pushed herself up off of my chest. She leaned over me, her hair brushing my cheek as she kissed me.

"Good morning," she whispered. "Ti amo."

My heart skipped a beat, and I smiled at her, her face so close to mine…

"Ti amo, Naomi."

She pulled her feet from the blanket and stepped over me.

When she was on the ground, she picked up her heels and bounded upstairs. She came back down in a green blouse and white shorts, grabbed an apple, and ran out the back door.

I ran after her, and she turned to me, confused.

I went up to her and took her hand.

"You have your phone?"

"Yes, Gianluca."

I pulled her to me to hug her tightly.

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will, Gianluca, don't worry."

"But I do worry."

She kissed my cheek.

"I'll send you pictures."

"Thanks."

She turned and her hand slipped out of mine.

I watched her jog down the pathway toward the marketplace.

I walked backwards to the porch, not wanting to look away, and sat on the steps.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

***Naomi's point of View**

When I got home, the three boys were in the living room, gathered around the phone, which was on speaker. The person on the line was speaking in Italian.

I went up behind Gianluca, who was sitting on the chest next to the couch, and hugged him from behind. He quietly kissed my cheek, and then returned to the conversation.

I sat on the couch next to Ignazio, who spoke in rapid Italian and then reached out to hang up the phone.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Since we're back in Italy, the company wants us to do a photo shoot," Piero explained.

"With the grapevines, the mountains…" Ignazio said.

"It's really short notice, but there are some good photographers in town, so we're doing it this evening. Hopefully it won't take too long," Gianluca explained. "You can come with us and watch if you want, but you'll probably be bored."

Piero nodded vigorously, "You are free to take my place in the photo shoot, Naomi!"

I laughed, and he said, "They'll make us dress up and then drag us through the countryside to take pictures."

"I'm assuming that you don't like photo shoots?"

He nodded, and slid his Beats over his ears.

"Oh, Piero, If only you weren't so handsome!" Ignazio said forlornly, dramatically clenching his hands into fists, and Piero shoved him.

So in the evening, just before it started to get dark, the three boys got dressed up in their suits and gathered in Gianluca's living room. I sat at the bottom of the stairs and watched some photographers and a woman come in to put some makeup on them and fix their hair a little.

Then they left, and Gianluca came over to hug me.

"I suppose you're going for a walk, Naomi?"

I nodded.

He kissed me, and then whispered in my ear, "Be careful."

I nodded, and then watched them go out into the photographer's car.

I went upstairs to put on my tennis shoes, and to put my hair into a ponytail, then I skipped down the stairs and set off toward the marketplace, deciding to stay on the pathways and sidewalks instead of going into a forest or to the beach.

It was a beautiful night, calm and warm.

I walked leisurely through the emptying marketplace, nodding at the tired venders, and walked down a lonely cobbled street, admiring the old looking houses.

I hummed "Beautiful Day" by Il Volo as I walked, and turned to walk down another street of beautiful, quiet houses.

I heard a commotion in the distance, faint screaming and crying, and I ran down the street and around the corner following the sound. When I reached the source of the commotion, I froze in horror.

My hands went to my mouth, and suddenly, I was five years old again, watching my neighbor's houses burn to the ground.

A crowd of people were gathered in front of a burning cottage, yelling in Italian and shouting into their phones. There were no signs of firefighters, at least not yet. Several men were tending to a battered-looking woman on the ground, who looked as if she had just crawled from the fire. The crackling sounds were loud, and the roof sagged a little, confirming that it would soon collapse. A group of women were huddled together, crying and screaming, as a group of men restrained another man who was desperately fighting to get at the house.

I stayed back, frozen in fear, wondering why he wanted to go in, but then heard something that sent chills down my spine.

A little kid was crying desperately in the house.

"Do you hear that!?" I yelled to the crowd, and they turned to look at me. "There's a kid in there!"

I was shaking, desperate to convey this to the group of Italians, who stared at me, confused.

A woman touched my arm, and I pulled away and screamed.

"Someone's gotta go in! Don't you hear the child!?"  
A man pushed through the crowd and said in English, "It's too dangerous! We are waiting for the fire department! They'll be here any second, and they'll get her out!"

"No they won't! They'll be too late! Don't you understand?"  
"Just wait, okay? They're almost here! Listen!"  
There were sirens in the distance, but I knew that they'd be too late.

I clasped my hands to my chest.

"Oh, Daddy!" I yelled, feeling five years old again.

I was terrified and felt numb, and I screamed at them that it'd be too late, and then I took off running toward the house.

The crowd screamed and grabbed at me.

"Don't!" the man yelled, "It's too dangerous!"

I sprinted through the front door, and the shock of the immediate heat rushed through me. Sweat started to run down my face.

Flamed licked the wall, and started to run across the floor toward me.

Breathing was impossible, and I told myself that the sooner I got the kid, the sooner I could leave.

I jumped over the flames, clutching my hands over my mouth to try to stop myself from breathing the smoke.

I tore throughout the house, shoving burning furniture aside, ran up a staircase, and entered a burning bedroom. Part of the roof had collapsed, and a little girl of about three years was hooked on the nails and jagged wood, struggling, her shirt about to catch on fire.

I yanked her from the pile, her shirt ripping into threads and the wood scraping her, but she was alive. I clasped her to my chest, and she passed out, going limp in my arms.

I felt like doing the same, but I had to keep going. There was no one to carry _me_ out of this. I felt like I was running around in the sun, and my lungs begged for just a little bit of air. It was loud, and I would have covered my ears if I hadn't been holding the child.

I inhaled and choked, feeling as though I might throw up.

I think I was supposed to crawl, but I couldn't hold the little girl and crawl at the same time. I crouched and stumbled forward as my chest began to pound.

_ No, No, No!_

There was a loud creaking, and I looked up to see the ceiling bending in. I leaped forward, almost to the stairs, squeezing the child to remind myself that I was her last hope.

A pile of burning wood fell in front of me on the stairs with a deafening crash, and I jumped back, getting light headed and weak at the knees. I fell down, but then used the handrail on the stairs to pull myself up. Flames raced up the banister as I stumbled away, lungs screaming. I draped the kid over my shoulder as best as I could and looked around for a window, my last hope. My chest pounded, and it was agonizingly hot and terrifying…

Death could be very close to me at this moment, and I almost collapsed in horror.

I spotted a window in another bedroom, and I ran into the room.

I dropped the kid onto the floor and grabbed a hot lamp to bash in the glass, which rained down on me as my hands stung with the heat.

There was a pool only a few feet away, and I grabbed the child, gasping for breath, hoisting myself through the window as broken glass tore at me. The whole roof was on fire now, and I saw it start to collapse from the middle, the hole spreading outward toward my feet. A flame grabbed hold of my shirt and climbed up toward my skin. It was my last chance to save myself and the child. I leaped from the roof, holding the kid, and flew through the air, breaking the surface of the pool and being immersed in cold water.

My lungs felt dead, and I breathed in the water deeply, then choked and fainted, unable to save either of us, sinking downward, the girl slipping from my hands.

***Gianluca's Point of View**

I stood in the vineyard, hot and irritable, but trying to comply with the photographers, who were getting frustrated with me.

"Ay, Gianluca, stop making that face! Just man up and smile a little."

I flashed them a crooked smile, and they ran around me snapping pictures.

My phone rang, and I reached for it, but the photographer yelled, "Don't you dare, kid, we are almost done!"

I sighed and complied.

They handed me a glass of wine, and told me to sit in the grass and drink it.

I sat, and the makeup artist ran over to swipe some foundation over my nose again.

"Can we go?" Piero sighed, and Ignazio nodded eagerly.

"Almost. We're going to do some group shots after Gianluca's pictures, and then you can go."

They groaned, and I laughed, which made the photographers go nuts with the photos.

"Come on, guys!" the agent or whatever he claimed to be said. "Be grateful for the fame and cooperate!"

My phone rang again, and he turned to me.

"Shouldn't you turn that off now?"

I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Sorry, I should answer. It's my girlfriend."

He stepped forward and took it out of my hand.

"Hey!" I said.

"She can wait. Do you want to finish this or not?"

I crossed my arms, stubborn to see what Naomi needed.

The phone stopped ringing, and then started ringing again.

He tossed it to Piero,

"You answer it."

He did so, and I went back to pretending to drink the glass of cheap wine for the photographers.

"Ms. Kendall? It's Piero? What happened? Why are you crying? Calm down! Tell me what happened!"

He jumped up, looking fearfully over at me. My chest seized up. I dropped the glass of wine on the ground, ignoring the protests of the photo shoot crew, and ran over to Piero.

"What's going on!?" I asked, gripping his arm. He waved me away and pleaded with Ms. Kendall for answers.

Ignazio leaned into Piero's arm, trying to hear the conversation.

"Oh my gosh. Okay, we're coming! Yes, we'll be there in a moment! What hospital did you say?"

My heart was pounding, and he hung up and turned to me.

"Gianluca, it's Naomi!"

"Oh, God, what happened to her? What happened!?"

"Come on, let's go to the hospital!"

We ran to the road to call a cab, and the crew yelled after us.

"_Arrivederci_!" Ignazio called. "We have to go! It was nice working with you!"

"What happened to her!?" I yelled, shaking Piero.

"There was a house fire! There was a little girl trapped inside, and Naomi ran in to save her, and the house collapsed. The firemen found them in the pool, and they're alive! Gianluca, Naomi saved the child. She jumped out the window with her!"

"Oh my gosh, so what's happening now!?"

"Gianluca, they're trying to help her to breathe. They got the water out of her lungs, and a machine is helping her to breathe. They're not sure if she can breathe on her own yet; and she's in and out of consciousness. This happened about an hour ago, but they just were able to identify her...from that tabloid article apparently!"

I ran my hands over my face, my heart pounding, terrified and trying not to yell.

Oh, Naomi! Running into a fire to save a little girl!

We climbed into a cab, Piero shouted orders to the driver, and I started to cry when the story of her father came to mind, holding my head in my hands.

"Her father," I gasped, "Died because he tried to save someone from a fire!"

"Oh my gosh!" Ignazio said.

"I don't want to lose her!" I pleaded to no one in particular, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

They took my shoulders and patted my back.

"It's going to be okay, Gianluca!" Ignazio said, but Piero looked unsure.

I cried quietly with my head in my hands for several minutes as we drove to the hospital, which would take a while to get to.

Then I wiped off my face and tried to be calm for Naomi.

"It's okay, Gianluca," Ignazio said softly. "You can cry."

"No, I have to be strong for Naomi. I don't want her to panic. We all have to be calm, okay? Do you guys understand me?"  
They nodded, and I started rubbing nervous circles into my thighs and running my hands through my hair.

My phone rang after a few minutes, and I immediately answered.

It was , who was crying, "Gianluca, hi! They found that she can breathe on her own, but they're afraid of irritation from the smoke she inhaled. They said she was in the house for only a minute or two, but they're watching for swelling. They're going to keep her overnight and monitor her breathing. She's awake now, and she's pleading for you and telling me to tell you she's sorry."

Tears sprung to my eyes and I gripped the seat.

"She's not going…to die…is she?"

Piero and Ignazio stiffened, watching me with white faces.

"No, they don't think so! Oh, Gianluca, please come! I'm afraid she'll panic!"

"Tell her we're almost there!"

"They're trying to get her to go back to sleep, so it's easier for her to breathe."

"Okay, we're almost there!"

I hung up and filled in the boys.

"What if they don't let us in!?" I realized in fear.

Ignazio shrugged.

"Then we'll stay until they do."

I ran my hands through my hair.

"Oh, my Naomi!"

When we reached the hospital, I leaped from the taxi and sprinted to the entrance, followed by Ignazio.

Piero threw some money to the driver and dashed after us.

We ran through the doors and skidded to a stop at the desk.

"Naomi Kendall!?" I gasped, and the woman gave us a room number, and then started to say something, but we took off down the hallway, coattails flying as we tore through the hospital. We met coming out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

"How is she!?" I asked breathlessly, hugging her.

"Sleeping, but she keeps waking up and asking for you. Gianluca, she hates hospitals, and I'm afraid she'll have a panic attack! They say they'll give her tranquilizers if she starts to have an attack, but… Get in there and try to calm her down, okay Gianluca?"

"I'll try my best!"

"They said that only family could see her, but I asked that you guys be allowed in, and they're permitting it."

"Thank you so much!"

"Just get in there!"

I nodded, and she kept going down the hallway, pulling out her phone. I turned to the boys, and we all took a moment to catch our breaths. I put my hand gingerly on the doorknob and paused.

"Okay, Gianluca?" Ignazio asked,

I nodded, and then we entered.

Naomi lay curled on the bed, looking fragile, with a faint distressed look on her face. She was wearing a blue hospital gown that bunched up around her knees, showing her already bruised legs now afflicted with fresh cuts.

Her arm was dangling off the side of the bed, and I took her hand and held it in mine, kneeling beside the bed. Piero and Ignazio stood next to me, gazing down at her.

"Naomi?" I whispered, and she didn't respond.

I stood, but couldn't bear to move away from her. Im a moment of spontaneity, I climbed onto the mattress and held myself carefully above her on all fours, watching her from above.

Piero looked over at Ignazio, who nodded.

"Get us when she wakes us," Ignazio said, and they stood.

I nodded, tearing up, and they left.

After a minute, Naomi whimpered a little and her eyes fluttered and opened to gaze up at me.

"Ginaluca!" she whispered, reaching up for my face.

"Oh, Naomi!"

I covered her face in kisses, and got down from the bed.

She reached out and grabbed my coat, and tugged me into sitting on the side of the bed. I leaned over her to hear her speak.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "No one was helping the little girl. She would have died!"

"It's okay, Naomi. I'm proud of you."

I reached out and rested a hand on her side.

"Why are you upset?"

I swiped at my eyes.

"I'm upset about you, Naomi! Your mom called me and she was crying, and I was just…terrified! Are you okay?"  
"My chest hurts. A lot, but they said I'm lucky that I can breathe on my own. And I'm so tired…"

"Well, go to sleep, then, sweetheart."

She sat up suddenly, her eyes wide. She reached out and gripped my coat.

"Gianluca!"

"What! What's wrong, my darling!?"

"Gianluca! I'm in a hospital! I'm in a hospital gown!"  
I grabbed her hands and held them tightly in mine.

"It's okay. You're okay, do you hear me?"

Her breathing was quickening.

"Gianluca! I want to change clothes! I really don't want to be here!"

"Oh, Naomi, it's okay. Look at me!"

"Gianluca!"

I was nervous about touching her, now that she seemed so fragile, but I carefully wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

She let go of my hand and gripped my coat.

"Naomi, you're okay."

I took her hand from my coat and raised it to my lips.

She looked up at me, eyes wild, breathing way too quickly.

"Hey," I said softly, calmly, "Look at me. Just look at me."

"Gianluca…" she whimpered.

"Shh…just look at me. You're okay."

She stared at me, and I softly talked to her, and rejoiced when her breathing began to slow somewhat.

"Good girl," I murmured. "Keep looking at me, beautiful. Just watch me, okay?"

Her eyes relaxed, and she breathed in deeply.

She laid her head on my chest, and I put my arms on her back to hold her firmly, trying to make her feel safe.

"Gianluca?"

I kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like smoke.

"Yes?"

"Don't leave me, okay?"

"I won't."

"Please don't leave."

"I'm not leaving."

"That panic attack was…muffled, I guess. If you leave it might come back, and be really bad."

"I'm staying here with you, Naomi."

She nodded, and inhaled deeply.

"Okay, will you please lay back down now?"

She nodded, and I moved to sit next to her instead of holding her.

I took her hand, rubbing the back of it with my thumb, and she gazed up at me, wincing as she breathed.

"Naomi, Piero and Ignazio are here. They want to see you."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Oh, no, Gianluca. I can't!"

"Okay, beautiful. Sleep for a little while, and they'll see you when you wake up."

She was quiet, and her face bore a distressed look.

"Gianluca? Will you sing?"

"What do you want me to sing?"

"I don't know. Pick something."

I smiled, and knelt by the bed, putting my face close to hers. I started to sing, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," from the Lion King.

She gazed up at me, and closed her eyes after a few minutes, her hand going limp.

I laid it on the mattress next to her, and kept singing.

After about ten minutes, two nurses came in, and they stopped when they saw me.

"Um, hello," one of them said in Italian. "We need to run some tests. You must leave."

"I…she doesn't want me to leave. She said that if I leave, she'll have a panic attack."

"She's asleep."

"Yes, but I don't want her to wake up and find I'm gone."

"I'm sorry, son," the other nurse, who was much older and gruffer, said, "But you have to leave so we can run these tests."

I stood reluctantly.

"May I come back after?"

They nodded, and I looked down at Naomi, who was sleeping peacefully.

I left and went to the waiting room.

Ignazio and Piero stood up.

"She's asleep," I told them. "She started to have a panic attack, but then she calmed down. She wanted me to stay with her, but some nurses kicked me out to run some tests. Oh, I didn't want to leave! I hope she stays asleep!"

"When do we get to see her?" Ignazio asked.

I ran a hand through my hair.

"I don't know. She wasn't feeling up to it, but later, okay?"

They nodded, and we sat, waiting quietly.

I rubbed my hands in nervous circles over my dress pants, desperate to get to her.

I noticed Ignazio watching me, and he smiled reassuringly and asked, "Why don't we go out for a walk on the beach?"

The hospital overlooked a long, sandy beach, and I'm sure Naomi would love to go out on it.

"Nah," I said. "I'm not really in the mood. I'm just going to wait until I can get back to Naomi."

He nodded, just as walked through the door of the hospital, holding a pile of things for Naomi: a change of clothes, her hairbrush, a blanket, and To Kill A Mockingbird.

She came to sit next to us.

"How'd it go?" she asked me.

"She started to have an attack, but then it stopped, and she fell asleep. They're running some tests right now, and they made me leave."

She nodded.

"Thank you so much, Gianluca. I appreciate you keeping her calm! I'm so glad she has you."

I smiled.

"Thank you, . I really do love her."

We waited for about an hour, and then one of the nurses came out and nervously approached us.

"Hi, are you with Naomi Kendall?" she asked in Italian.

I translated for , and we told her yes.

"Do you happen to know where she went?"

"What!?" I asked, jumping up.

"Gianluca?" asked anxiously.

"We stepped out for a moment to bring the results to the doctor, and when we went back, she was gone. We looked around for her, and we're not sure of know where she went. I assumed that you know where she is?"

The boys and I stared blankly back at her, and she smiled nervously.

tugged on my sleeve.

"Gianluca!? What's happened?"

I told her, trying to look as calm as possible, and her hands went to her face.

"Oh no…Oh my gosh! That crazy girl!"

I put a hand reassuringly on her knee.

"We don't know where she is." Piero said in Italian, nervously chewing his tongue.

"Actually..." I said, thinking, "I think I might have an idea of where she went."

I repeated this to .

"Where, Gianluca!?" she asked.

I stood up.

"I'll go look for her. Give me a few minutes, and I'll text you."

She nodded nervously, and Ignazio scooted over to talk to her as I jogged out the front door of the hospital.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I ran around the side of hospital building straight to the beach. I walked quickly along the sand, looking for her.

A dock stuck out into the sea, and I saw Naomi sitting under it, feeling the tide run over her legs. Her back was to me, and I could see her whole back. The hospital gown lay crumpled beside her on the ground.

I froze, and ran a hand nervously through my hair. I thanked heaven that she was the only person on the whole beach, then I pulled out my phone and texted .

_"Found her. I'll bring her back…"_

Then I called out to Naomi, who didn't have her phone.

"Noami, I'm here! Will you please put on the gown?"  
"No, Gianluca! I can't!"  
I ran a hand through my hair again, blushing.

"But…I'll see…"

"I don't care, Gianluca…" she said, pulling her knees to her chest.

I sighed, then shrugged out of my coat and walked up behind her, eyes on the horizon. I draped it over her back, and when she realized what it was, she put her hands through the sleeves and buttoned up the front, then scooted back, out of reach of the tide, brushing sand off of her shorts.

I sat next to her, watching the tears stream down her face.

She turned to look at me, and I reached out and pulled her into my arms. She was shaking, and struggling to breathe, and I knew she needed to get back.

"Naomi, tell me what you're thinking."

She started to cry again, and I held her tightly and kissed her cheeks, tasting her tears on my lips.

"I'm scared, Gianluca! I had a panic attack, and it's hard to breathe, and you left me, and…I don't want to go back!"

"Listen to me, Naomi. You are okay. Everything is fine. The hospital is just a building."

"A building where people die!"

"And a building where people are healed. You don't need to be scared, okay? They made me leave so they could run some tests, and I'm going to stay here overnight with you."

"You will?"

"I will. I won't be able to sleep at home anyway, knowing you're here."

"What if I have another panic attack? They want to give me tranquilizers so that I won't, but…that won't work! As soon as they start to wear off, I'll start to panic! You shouldn't try to keep yourself from having an attack, or it gets worse! Do they not understand!?"

She buried her face in my chest, but then pulled back, gulping for air.

"Naomi, why did you leave?"

She sighed.

"Gianluca, panic attacks are a fight or flight feeling, and I just can't fight anymore!"

I cupped her sweet face in my hand and made her look at me.

"But, Naomi, you are a fighter."

She looked away, out at the water..

"Naomi, today you saved a little girl from a burning building. Just a few days ago, you fell down a mountain after having a panic attack, and then you walked home in the rain! When that guy in the sheep's field grabbed you, you roundhouse-kicked him in the face!"

She smiled.

"Naomi, you are amazing! And you can do this! I will help you go back, and I will stay with you all night. They'll give you some breathing treatments, we'll stay for only a night, and in the morning, when they know you're okay, we'll go home."

She leaned against me.

"I'm scared."

I held her tightly.

"I'm here. You don't need to be."

She was quiet, and then looked up at me and out at the water again.

"Okay, Gianluca. I'll go back. I'll fight."

I smiled, and tilted her head up with my hand to kiss her lips.

"You must be so tired Naomi. You've had quite a rough evening."

She nodded, yawning.

I stood, and she started to clamber to her feet, reaching for my arm to help herself get up, but I reached down and scooped her up into my arms, holding her firmly to my chest.

"I love you, Naomi."

"I love you too, Gianluca," she whispered.

I slid my foot under the gown, kicking it into the air and catching it on Naomi's middle.

She giggled.

"Let's go, my love."

I started walking back to the hospital, holding her firmly and carefully.

***Naomi's point of View**

I was so tired, and Gianluca's arms were safe and strong and loving.

He snuck me through the waiting room and brought me down the hallway to my room, pulling back the covers and gently setting me down.

He placed the crumpled gown on a chair and went to find the nurse, who came in and scolded me for leaving, and then thanked Gianluca me for finding me. She let me remain in his jacket instead of the gown.

Gianluca told her that he would watch me and make sure I didn't leave again, and the nurse sheepishly agreed. I wasn't too pleased with her for sending Gianluca away. It was scary, waking up and seeing he was gone, and starting to have the panic attack. I knew it was stupid of me to leave, but I felt like I had to get out of there. I sleepily reached out to Gianluca, and he sat next to me, texting my mom, who came running in a minute later.

I explained everything that had happened without hiding anything, and she understood, but was frustrated with me for taking off the gown on the beach, which I understood.

"You are crazy, girl!" she said, kissing my cheek and putting the things she had brought me on a chair.

Gianluca moved to the wall for my mom to sit next to me.

"Mom," I said. "I'm okay, really, and Gianluca's going to stay with me. Will you go home and sleep?"

She shook her head.

"I don't think so, Naomi."

"Mom, I know you hate the hospital, too. I don't want you to have to stay here for no reason. Gianluca will keep me sane, okay? Please go home!"

I reached my hand out to Gianluca, who immediately came back to my side.

"I'll take care of her, ."

She sighed.

"Naomi…"

"Please, mom? I hate making you stay here."

She was quiet, watching me.

"Are you sure, sweetheart?"

"Absolutely! I want to keep as few people here worrying over me as possible! Go home!"

"Okay, Naomi. Call me if you want me to come back, okay? I'll be here in the morning!"

I nodded, and she kissed my cheek, and told Gianluca to text her if anything happens, and he agreed. As soon as my mom left, I sighed and leaned back against the bed.

"It's exhausting acting like you're not exhausted," I admitted, and Gianluca smiled and came to sit next to me. I cuddled up to his chest, and he kissed my head, putting his arm around me to hold me firmly.

"Okay, Naomi," he said softly. "You need to let Piero and Ignazio see you now."

"Do I? I hate all these people worrying over me, Gianluca!""

"Yes, you have to. They've been waiting, and they need to see you're okay."

I nodded.

"They can come in."

I insisted on sitting up on my own, trying not to look quite so pathetic.

He texted them, and they came quickly to the room, entering cautiously and smiling at me, Piero looking nervous, and Ignazio looking exited to see me, his dimples showing.

They came to the bed and each took one of my hands and kissed it, and I smiled. They were so sweet! They both sat at the edge of the bed and watched me intently.

"Are you okay, Naomi?" Piero asked, and I nodded, though my lungs ached. I never thought breathing could hurt so much.

"How do you feel?" Ignazio asked.

"It hurts…to breathe. But I'll be okay, as long as there's no swelling or anything."

"Gosh, I bet you're tired!" Piero said, and I nodded, giving up and leaning against Gianluca, who warmly accepted me against his chest. He was so warm, his arms so strong, and his scent so comforting.

"We'll let you sleep this time," Ignazio said, and I smiled a little at the reference to the night of the mountain disaster.

"Gosh, you scared us, Naomi!" Piero said.

"I'm sorry…Thank you for coming to see me, guys," I said to them. "I really appreciate it."

They nodded, and Ignazio shook his head in disbelief.

"You, Naomi, are something else."

They kissed my hands again, and promised to visit me when I went home in the morning, then to my delight, Gianluca suggested the three of them sing something before they left.

After discussing for several minutes what to sing (such perfectionists!), they finally sang "We are Love," and I closed my eyes, listening blissfully, feeling the intakes of Gianluca's breaths as he sang.

They boys left, and I fell asleep against Ginaluca.

After about an hour, a nurse came in and woke me up, to give me a breathing treatment. I was exhausted, but I was happy to for the momentary aid. It was noisy, though, and it was bright in the hospital, and cold! I just wanted to sleep!

As I breathed in the medicine, I started to remember that I was in the dreaded hospital, and my heart started to pound. I started to get stiff and wide-eyed, and I started clinging to Gianluca's shirt again. He took my hand in his, and made me look at him.

The ability to breathe at all was slipping away, and I began to gasp.

Gianluca held my hands tightly and kept telling me I was okay, and as I stared into his calm expression and listened to his soothing voice, I started to calm down. My lungs relaxed and I slowly inhaled, replacing lost oxygen. My lungs felt dry and hot, and I coughed.

The treatment finished, and the nurse returned to give me some pills to swallow.

Gianluca took the blanket my mother had brought and unfolded it.

He draped it over me, and I snuggled up to him again, closing my eyes.

I slept, but soon Gianluca was jostling me, and the nurse was back to give me another treatment.

I moaned.

"Can't you let me sleep?" I asked them.

"Naomi, you're wheezing," Gianluca said. "You need a treatment."

He took the mask from the nurse's hand and slipped over my nose and mouth.

The smoke from the machine curled up to the ceiling as I breathed in the medicine. The medicine made me shaky, and made my heart speed up, and it made me unable to sleep for a while.

"It speeds up the breathing system, and everything else, too," the nurse explained.

When the treatment finished, I raised my shaking hand to rest on Gianluca's chest, and he took it and kissed my fingers.

I fell into a light sleep, and suddenly, I was five years old, watching a burning building collapse, killing everyone inside. I woke up, pulling away from Gianluca, panting, struggling to breathe and failing. Tears were running from my eyes, and I buried my face in my hands.

Gianluca took my arm and I turned to him. He pulled me to him, and I buried my face in his chest.

"Gianluca!" I said, muffled. "I should tell you about what happened today."

He nodded.

"I wanted to know, but I didn't want you to have to tell me if you didn't want to think about it."

I leaned against him, catching my breath, and he carefully wiped under my eyes with his thumb, and then pulled the hospital blanket over me again.

"I was watching the fire, and I felt like I was a scared little kid again, watching the houses on my street burn down. I heard a little girl screaming, and I knew I had to save her, because no one else was going to!"

I sat up, moving my hands to his face.

"Gianluca!" I said. "I need you to go find that little girl! I need you to make sure she's okay! I need you to find out what happened to her!"

He took my hands.

"Okay, I will. I will find out!"

The nurse came in, then, and Gianluca stood, speaking in rapid Italian, and she spoke back, while she took a stethoscope and listened to my breathing.

Gianluca was asking her something over and over, until she left, and then he took my hands.

"Can you walk?"

I nodded, and stood.

He wrapped a hand around my waist, steadying me, and led me out of the room and down the hallway.

"Gianluca, where are we going?"

"We're going to see her."

We went down a few doors, and Gianluca stopped at one and knocked.

The door opened after a moment, by the man who was screaming and trying to run into the fire earlier.

Gianluca spoke to him in rapid Italian, and the man took my hand and knelt in front of me, speaking to me in Italian.

"He says you have saved his little girl, and he thanks you," Gianluca explained, and I blushed and nodded.

He stood and led us into the room, where there were two beds. In one slept a woman who was being tended to at the fire. She was being given a breathing treatment, and her head and leg were wrapped in bandages. The little girl lay in the other bed, sleeping peacefully, smiling a little. She had bandages over what I presumed were burn wounds, and she had stitches on her sides. A machine was helping her to breathe.

I went to the side of the bed, and quietly watched her while Gianluca spoke with the man. Then he came to me and hugged me.

"The woman is the girl's mother. She got injured while trying to save the daughter, and someone dragged her out, but didn't know about the little girl. But Naomi, they are both going to be okay."

I smiled.

"Naomi, do you realize you're a hero?" Gianluca asked, and I averted my eyes and shook my head a little, suddenly feeling very tired. I put a hand on his arm.

"Gianluca, can we go back? I feel very weak."

He nodded and bent to pick me up, holding me carefully to his chest.

He carried me back to my room and sat me on the bed.

He sat next to me and I lay against him.

"I found her in a burning bedroom, hooked on a heap of burning boards. I pulled her away from the fire, and found that I couldn't go down the steps. So I found a window, and I jumped out and landed in the pool."

I started to tremble, and he held me tightly and kissed my temple.

"Gianluca? I think my dad helped me somehow to save her."

He smiled.

"Really?"

I nodded, smiling back, and shivered.

Gianluca picked up the hospital blanket and draped it around me, and cuddled with me, wrapping both arms tightly around me.

I slept, and hated having to wake up so often for breathing treatments. Gianluca was so warm and comfortable, and strong, and I just wanted to sleep. His arm was around me, gently supporting me against him.

When the nurse left after a treatment, I looked up at him, and he looked down at me, and I reached up to kiss him, and he kissed me softly back, reaching to gently touch my face. I laid my head on his chest.

I loved him. I loved him so much. I reached up my hand to rest it on his chest, and he rested his hand on top of mine.

"I love, you, Naomi."

"I love you too, Gianluca."

He closed his eyes and smiled when I said it, and then opened them to gaze at me again, shaking his head.

"You're so wonderful, Naomi…and you need to rest. His arm moved to adjust me against him. "Should I sing you a lullaby?"

"Yes please!"

He started to sing, "This Time," and I closed my eyes, listening, and fell asleep again, safe and comforted.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

At about five in the morning, I was woken up yet again to do a breathing treatment. It was much easier to breathe now, and the doctor confirmed that there was no infection or swelling.

They told me that later I would do one last treatment, and then they would send me home, which I was relieved to hear.

I didn't feel like sleeping anymore, but Gianluca told me that I had to. He looked really tired, and I wondered if he had slept at all, or if he had stayed up to watch over me all night.

So I rested against Gianluca, but was too restless for sleep. So he took To Kill A Mockingbird from the chair next to the bed, deciding to read to me. I snuggled up to him, laying my hand on his chest, and tucking my head under his chin.

As he read, I looked up at him, watching his lips move as he spoke, admiring his handsome features, and listening to his handsome Italian accent.

I somehow managed to fall asleep again, and when I woke, Gianluca was dozing, his head leaning on mine. I stayed completely still to let him rest.

Eventually a nurse came in, and Gianluca opened his eyes and smiled at me. I gave him a good morning kiss, and then willingly slid on the mask to receive the final treatment.

My mother came in during the treatment, and after I finished I changed into the clothes she had brought, and we drove home.

I was so glad to be back in Gianluca's home, and he definitely was too.

"Naomi," my mother said. "I'm sorry, but today you cannot go out at all. Stay here and rest all day, and tomorrow you can go out again. I'll bring you your medicines when it's time, okay?"

I nodded, but still longed to go out.

"Gianluca? Will you stay with Naomi and watch her, make sure she doesn't leave?"

He nodded, and then took my hand and we went upstairs.

He looked tired, and moved more slowly than normal.

He went to his room to change, and I went to the guest bedroom and sat on the bed to wait for him. He came in, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, carrying his laptop.

"I want you to rest and watch a movie, okay?"

"Okay, Gianluca, if you say so."

"What do you want to watch?"

"I want to watch the Il Volo PBS concert."

He looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

He set up the laptop on the edge of the bed and went off to find the C.D.

He slid it in the laptop and got me a blanket, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I lay down on top of the covers, with the blanket over my legs to please him, though he was really the tired one.

As I watched the concert, he leaned against the headboard and began to doze, and he eventually adjusted himself without opening his eyes to lie next to me.

I smiled and moved close to him, wondering if he was awake. I laid my head against his side. He moved his arm to rest on my shoulder, and I looked up at him. He didn't open his eyes, and I quietly let him sleep, drifting in and out of it myself.

The concert ended, and we lay side by side in the quiet.

My mom brought me some medicine, and told me that the three adults were going out for lunch and a hike, and she asked if I wanted anything.

I said no, and when she left I went downstairs to get a bowl of cereal.

I heard Gianluca get up and rush around a bit.

He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, and skidded to a stop when he saw me putting my bowl in the sink, and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

I went over to hug him, and he covered my face in kisses.

"I promise I won't leave today, okay, Gianluca?"

He nodded.

"Will you watch another movie with me?"

I agreed, and let him pick a boy-movie to watch, deciding to bear the violence to make him happy.

I kissed him, and he left to get the DVD.

We sat side by side on the couch, and he fell asleep again and eventually shifted to lie on his back. I smiled and gazed at his peaceful expression, and reached from the remote to shut off the movie.

I quietly got up and went to sit on the porch, wanting to be outside.

The sunshine was warm and pleasant on my skin, and the birds sang in the trees.

After a while, I saw Piero and Ignazio driving back from the marketplace in one of the rental cars. When they saw me sitting on the porch, they waved, and then started to come over.

Ignazio was carrying a loaf of fresh bread, which he sweetly placed in my arms after he and Piero hugged me.

"I thought you might like a snack," he said, and I thanked him and pulled off a piece, smelling it and then taking a bite.

"Mmmm, thanks Ignazio," I said, handing them the loaf, from which they each tore a piece.

"So, Naomi, how are you feeling?" Piero asked.

"I'm okay, guys. Honestly, I am. I actually want to go out and explore right now, but I'm not allowed to."

I leaned my head dreamily on my hand, gazing at the mountains in the distance, and Ignazio laughed. "So you can breathe alright, Naomi?"

"Yes, I can breathe," I said. "My lungs are sore, though, if that makes sense."

"Yeah, sure, I get it," Piero said.

"I know it wasn't really smart for me to run into the burning building yesterday, but…there was a little girl in there, and no one else would go in, so…"

They nodded.

"Naomi, you saved that little girl's life," Ignazio said, suddenly getting serious, "Do you realize that you're a hero?"

I blushed and looked away from them.

"I just…I felt like I had to. I upset Gianluca though, huh?"

"You scared all of us," Piero said, "We were with the photographers, and your mother called us. We took a cab immediately to the hospital and we ran in to see you."

Ignazio touched my arm, and I turned to him.

"But yes, Gianluca was terrified, and angry too, I think, not at you, but angry that you got hurt. And… he was crying."

"He cried for me?"

Ignazio nodded, and I blushed, and then looked up at both of them.

"I'm sorry I scared you guys."

They shook their heads.

"Ah, Naomi, it's okay!" Piero said.

"And…" Ignazio said, smirking, "You gave us a good excuse to leave the photo shoot early."

Piero laughed and shoved him.

"So where's Gianluca?" Ignazio asked me. "I'm surprised he's not with you. I thought he'd be your shadow today!"

"I don't think he slept at all last night," I said, "He was too busy watching over me, I guess, so he fell asleep when we were watching a movie just now. I think he's uneasy, though, fearful that I'll leave. But I won't go exploring today, because my mother wants me to stay and have a day to recover, a day of rest."

"Gosh Naomi, haven't you seen every part of Abruzzo by now, getting up at first light every day?" Ignazio asked, smirking.

"How do you know I get up so early?" I asked, surprised.

"I'm a light sleeper. I hear you run by my window."

I smiled.

"Sorry if I wake you, I just love exploring! But no, Abruzzo just has so much to offer! Oh, I'm going to hate going back home."

"Yeah…" Piero said, "We're going to miss this place."

"At any rate," I said, "I'm glad I finally went on a trip out of the U.S.!"

"Really?" Ignazio said, "You've never been out of the country?"

"Really," I said.

"We've been to-"

"Yes, I know, Ignazio, you guys have been everywhere!"

He laughed.

"Yep, everywhere. That's a pretty accurate description, I'd say!"

Suddenly, the screen door burst open behind us.

We all turned and saw Gianluca, wide-eyed, standing there, and he relaxed when he saw me and rubbed his face with his hands.

I stood and went up to him.

"Gianluca…"

He looked somberly at me, dropping his hands to touch me lightly around the waist, and I saw that it had scared him to wake and find me missing.

"Gianluca, I'm not going anywhere today, okay?"

He nodded, and hugged me tightly.

"Awwww!" Piero and Ignazio cooed, and Gianluca playfully narrowed his eyes at them and then took my hands.

"Naomi, I want you to come back inside and rest."

"Awww…Gianluca, I don't want to rest anymore!"

"Then I'll read your book to you. Please come in with me, Naomi!"

I nodded, deciding to indulge him. He had worried over me enough in the past few hours. Gianluca sent away Ignazio and Piero with a promise to work on some music the next day, and took me inside.

I cuddled up with him on the sofa and he began to read some more of To Kill A Mockingbird aloud to me, in his handsome Italian accent, with his arm around my back. As I listened, I leaned my head against him and savored warm pieces of bread from the fresh loaf Ignazio had brought.

I spent the day lounging around with Gianluca, and was only apart from him after dinner when I went upstairs to shower.

When I came out, I took my medicine and went to sit in a chair in the empty living room and finish the book, listening to my mom and talk in the kitchen.

Gianluca came downstairs after a while and sat across the room in another chair to pretend to watch T.V., but I don't think he ever took his eyes off of me. After a while, I got up to make some tea and take the final pills of the day, and then returned to my book.

Eventually the reading and the warm tea made me sleepy, and I leaned against the arm of the chair, turning the book sideways to keep reading. I finished the book, and then flipped back a few pages to re-read them.

My eyes felt heavy, and so did the book, and before I could finish re-reading the final pages, I closed my eyes and the book slipped from my grasp, landing with a thud on the floor. I left it there, pulling my knees to my chest and readjusting my head on the arm of the chair to get more comfortable. The air conditioner made a comforting whooshing sound, and I felt content, though my position in the chair was probably strange-looking.

I heard Gianluca get up from his chair and bring my empty tea glass to the sink, softly reassuring my questioning mother that I had indeed taken my medicine.

Then I felt his hand move under my back, and another move under my legs. He carefully picked me up and held me against him as he kissed my cheek.

I opened my eyes and smiled, and he carried me upstairs to the guestroom, placing me down on the mattress and pulling the covers over me.

Then he left without a word, and returned with the book, which he added to the stack on the desk. I sat up in the bed, and he came over and leaned down to hug me good-night, then kissed me. He moved to stand, but I reached out to take his arm, pulling him back to me. So he kissed me again, longer this time, and then pulled back. Again I took his arm, and he smiled and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder to pull me close to him.

After a few minutes he kissed my cheek, and whispered, "Ti amo, Naomi. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Gianluca."

He stood and went to turn off the lamp, closing the door as he left, with one last smile at me.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The next morning I went out right when I woke up, even before sunrise, ecstatic to go out and explore. I was out and about for almost three hours, just riding around on Gianluca's bike and seeing where I ended up.

About the time when I thought Gianluca would be up, I took some pictures of the places I rode by and sent them to him.

I returned to the house and spent the rest of the morning dutifully reading my next classic, Pride and Prejudice, and listening to Il Volo's "We Are Love" album while cuddling up with Gianluca on the sofa. After lunch I went shopping with my mom, where she insisted on buying me a gorgeous royal blue gown. I didn't know why she wanted me to have it, but she insisted that I needed it.

I didn't mind having it, though. It was an incredibly gorgeous, silky gown that trailed the ground when I wore it. It was very flattering, and seemed to flow gently down my body.

When we got back to the Ginoble house, I looked for Gianluca to show him the gown, but he was nowhere to be found.

I asked if she knew where he was, and she just smiled and said, "Oh, he has some stuff to do."

I went over to Piero and Ignazio's houses, but he wasn't there either.

So I went back to the Ginoble house and texted him, but he didn't respond.

Everyone was being weird, and I went to take a shower, and then to the guestroom to read.

At about seven, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I called, lying on my stomach on the bed, reading.

The door opened, and Piero and Ignazio stood in the doorway.

"Evening, Naomi," Ignazio said cheerfully.

"Evening," I said, sitting up.

"We have somewhere we need to take you," Piero said.

"You-what?"

"Put on the dress your mother bought you today, and do your makeup or whatever you girls like to do, then meet us downstairs," Ignazio instructed.

They turned to leave, and I stood indignantly.

"Hang on, guys! What's going on!?"

Ignazio looked over at Piero as if asking what to tell me, and Piero said, "Just do as we say."

I eyed them suspiciously, Piero he reached out and closed the guestroom door.

What in the world…?

I stood and obediently changed into the gorgeous blue gown, stopping to twirl in front of the mirror. I put on black flats because I didn't know where I was going. I twisted my hair up into a bun, which I rarely did, and I put on some mascara, lipstick, and earrings, and then went carefully downstairs. I felt like I was going to Prom or something, but I was really confused.

I went downstairs, and my mother met me at the bottom.

"Oh, darling, you look beautiful!"

"Thanks, Mom, but do you know where I'm going?"

"Yes, and you're going to have such a great time!"

"I am?"

"You are! Go and meet Piero and Ignazio."

I went to the living room, and they both stood and smiled at me.

"You look beautiful," they both said, and I smiled and thanked them.

They offered me their arms, and I took them.

They led me outside and down the porch steps, and to one of the rental cars.

Ignazio helped me into the passenger seat, and then he sat in the back.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Hush, Naomi, you'll see soon enough." Piero said.

We drove through the marketplace and down several cobbled streets to a quiet road with little medieval-styled buildings scattered about.

They stopped in front of a particularly large building that appeared to be a sort of restaurant.

Piero stopped the car and they both smiled over at me.

"This is where you get out," Ignazio said.

"Just me!?"  
Piero nodded, and reached back to take something from the backseat.

He handed me a single red rose, with a piece of paper wrapped around the stem.

"Read the paper, and have fun, okay?" Ignazio said as I took the rose.

I stared at them suspiciously for a second and then climbed out of the car. As soon as I closed the door, they drove off.

I looked up timidly at the large building in front of me, and saw a little Italian sign in the front appearing to offer magnificent dishes of food.

I looked down at the rose in my hand and pulled the paper off to read it in the fading light of day.

_"Dearest Naomi, from the moment I first met you I knew you were someone special. I find myself wanting to spend every waking moment with you, and I regret that I did not get to take you out to dinner the other night. I hope that Piero and Ignazio got you here without any complications. Don't be afraid, just walk right inside and tell the man in front that you are Naomi."_

I looked up a bit nervously and then stepped forward to open the door. I was in a beautiful restaurant, with dim lights and harp music playing.

There were red carpets on the floor and candles all about on the tables, but no sign of Gianluca anywhere. A short, dark-haired man in a suit leaned on a pedestal, waiting for something interesting to happen.

I approached him, smiling nervously.

"Um, hi, I'm Naomi…"

He smiled and nodded to me, then waved over two giggling, exited-looking girls in waitress uniforms who put their hands on my shoulders and guided me through the restaurant and, to my surprise, out the back door.

One of them reached into the pocket on her apron and handed me another red rose, and they both giggled and shuffled away.

I was in a large garden, with low hanging trees and beautiful flowers, and little fountains here and there. There was a walkway in front of me, surrounded with bushes and candles. I looked around in admiration of the magnificent garden, then looked down at the earnest little rose in my hand.

I pulled the paper off and read it.

_"Dearest Naomi, I hope that you are not frightened by this experience. You are in no danger whatsoever. I have prepared ten roses for you, and this is the second. I hope you like the things I am telling you; I absolutely did my best to convey how I feel about you. Let me begin by saying that you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes upon. It's absolutely fitting that your name means "Beautiful," and I think this every time that I see you."_

I blushed, carefully added the first rose to the second, and looked around for the third, spotting it sticking out of a hanging flowerpot in the entrance of the pathway.

I went over to it, my gown trailing on the stepping stones, and delicately picked up the beautiful thing.

_"Dearest Naomi, you have said yourself that I am usually calm and collected, but when I am with you, my calm disposition is challenged by the joy that I feel. There is a wonderful warmth in my chest that you cause just by being in the same room with me. And if I may quote an Il Volo song, whenever I am not with you, I bring you to my senses."_

My hand was over my mouth, and my heart was racing with delight at the sweet words. I walked along the pathway to the fourth rose, and stooped to take it from the hand of a statue of an angel.

Note by note, the tears came to my eyes and I held the roses to my singing heart. Gianluca was absolutely amazing, and he loved _me!_

Each note contained more of his inmost thoughts concerning me, which he gave to me one beautiful rose at a time.

I carefully folded and stacked each note, to save them and be able to go back and re-read them.

When I finished the ninth note, I was wiping tears out of my eyes and laughing, and holding a bundle of precious roses in my hand.

I looked around for the tenth, but I couldn't see it anywhere. I kept walking along the candlelit pathway, searching, but I couldn't find it.

I worried that I had missed it, but I didn't see it anywhere.

So I kept walking along, searching.

I came to the end of the path and entered a candlelit ring of bushes. In the middle was a table with a long white tablecloth over it, and behind it was a fountain, with candles sitting around it.

In the middle of all this stood my Gianluca, in a handsome black suit, smiling crookedly at me, holding the tenth rose in his hand.

My hand flew to my mouth, and I quickly laid the nine roses in my arms down on a bench.

I clasped my hands to my chest and walked over to Gianluca, my dress trailing on the ground.

He rested a hand on my waist and held up the rose in front of me.

"Oh my gosh," he said, "You look stunning."

"Wow, Gianluca," I said, breathless, "You're not proposing, are you?"

He laughed, "Not this time, sweetheart."

I took the rose from him and rolled it in my fingers, my heart jumping around within my chest.

Gianluca held out his hand, and I took it, and we held the rose in our hands. I placed my other hand around Gianluca's neck, and he leaned toward me to touch his forehead against mine.

"There's no paper on this rose," he said. "I ran out of things to say to tell you I love you, so I thought I'd just try to show you."

He gently tilted up my face with his hand, and kissed me so softly and sweetly that the joyful tears returned to my eyes.

"Oh, Gianluca…" I whispered, breathtaken, after he pulled back to watch my reaction. "You are so… romantic!"

He smiled

"What can I say? I'm Italian."

I laughed, and reached up to kiss him again.

"Ti amo, Gianluca."

"Ti amo, Naomi. Are you crying?"  
I wiped at my eyes.

"Yes! I'm just so happy!"

"Good, I'm glad!"

I smiled and kissed him again.

"Oh, Gianluca, I am so in love with you!"

It was his turn to kiss me.

"And I with you."

He smiled, and then released my hand to pull what looked like a remote out of his coat pocket.

"Watch this," he whispered, and clicked it.

The beginning music of "Questo Amore" surrounded us.

"Wow!" I said, as Gianluca tucked the remote back into his pocket and took my hand. He readjusted his arm on my waist and we began to sway, turning slowly. He sang softly to me, but I interrupted him over and over again with kisses.

We danced like this for maybe an hour or so, but it felt like a very short time. Just as I realized I was getting hungry, Gianluca removed his hand from my waist to take my hand from his shoulder, and then we turned to watch two waiters carry in steaming plates of elegant pasta and breadsticks. They also carried two wineglasses, a fancy bottle of wine, and a glass of water.

Then they nodded to us and left, and Gianluca led me to the table and pulled out my chair for me.

"Wow, Gianluca!" I said, "This looks amazing!"

"Doesn't it?" he said, looking pleased at the table. "I ordered wine, but I wasn't sure if you'd like it, so I got water also."

Gianluca poured himself a glass, and I asked to try it.

He smiled crookedly and held it out to me, watching for my reaction.

I sipped it, and wrinkled up my nose. He laughed, and I tried it again, and coughed as the burning filled my throat.

"I think I'll stick with the water," I said, and he laughed again as he carefully took the glass from me.

He took the remote out and turned down the music so we could talk. He raised his wineglass for a toast and I raised my water.

"To us!" he said, as the glasses clinked.

"To us!" I repeated, and then we started on the pasta, which was admittedly the best pasta I've ever tasted in my life, which we told the waiters when they came to check on us.

"So this is what you were doing when I couldn't find you! Everyone was acting so weird, smiling at me and telling me you had "stuff to do"."

He smiled.

"Yes, I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect!"

"And is it?"

"You tell me."

"Yes, Gianluca, this is perfect!"

After dinner, we danced again, his hand on my waist and mine around his shoulder, and my other hand in his.

After a while, Gianluca checked his watch, saying, "We've got some time to spare before I have to bring you back. Is there anything you would like to do?"

I smiled.

"Well…there's something I've always wanted to do…"

"What's that?"

"I've always wanted to walk on a beach in a beautiful gown, with an amazing guy walking with me."

He smiled and released my hand, putting it around my waist and pulling me to him.

"Will I do?"

I laughed softly.

"You'll be perfect, Gianluca."

He left the remote and a tip on the table, and then gathered up my roses and offered me his arm, leading me around the side of the restaurant to the hiding place of the car.

He carefully placed the roses in the backseat, and then we drove to the beach, where I left my shoes in the car and climbed out, my feet sinking into the cool sand and the bottom of my gown fluttering in the breeze.

Gianluca took my hand and kissed it, the moon reflecting in his eyes, and then we started walking. I loved the feel of the sand on my bare feet, and I kept glancing back to smile at our footprints.

Gianluca's coat fluttered around him, and he looked stunningly handsome in the light of the moon. So I walked close to him, watching his face looking out over the sea.

"Gianluca…" I whispered.

He smiled at me, and I felt warm inside.

"Oh, Gianluca, I'm so lucky! You could have moved to anywhere in the entire world, and you moved in next door to _me_! I've never been this lucky before! Maybe the universe is repaying me for noticing it…"

"No, Naomi, I'm the lucky one!"

He took my other hand and gazed into my eyes.

"You're so…wonderful, and beautiful, and dreamy… You have this…_romance_…going on with the earth around you, and you dream, and write, and plant gardens, and are loved by everyone who meets you… You're just so amazing, and…you love_ me_."

I kissed him, reaching up my arms to wrap around his neck, and he pulled me tightly to him, his coat fluttering around me in the breeze of the ocean.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

When I got back from my walk the next morning, was sitting down to fold laundry, and I sat to help her.

"Oh, thank you sweetheart. That's very nice of you."

I nodded, and reached for the pile of Gianluca's shirts to fold, taking a moment to smell them.

"Mmm…," I said to , who laughed. "They smell like him!"

"So, Naomi, how do you like Abruzzo?"

"I LOVE Abruzzo! It's so magical! It must be the most beautiful place in the world!"

She nodded.

"I agree! and I are just loving our time back. We really missed this place. There are so many great memories here from our family."

"I've been having such a great time here! I don't want to go home!"

She nodded.

"I completely understand! I don't want to leave either."

We kept talking about the trip, and eventually I realized that I was only going to be in Abruzzo for three more days, including the rest of that day.

"Oh my gosh!" I said, jumping up and rushing to the calendar. "It's really only three more days! I can't believe it's almost been two weeks!"

I heard Gianluca coming down the stairs, and I turned to see him in his black T-shirt and jeans, looking down at his phone.

"Gianluca!" I said.

He looked up at me, and smiled brilliantly.

"Hi sweetheart!"

"We only have three days left in Abruzzo, including today!"

He tucked his phone into his pocket and clapped his hands to his cheeks.

"Only three more days!?"

"Right! Our two weeks went by so fast!"

"Three days!? Only three days left!?" he repeated in mock incomprehension.

"Gianluca?"

What was he doing?"

He dropped his hands from his face and ran out of the living room onto the porch, grabbing his tennis shoes and pulling them on. He ran back into the room, yelling, "Three days!"

He ran up to me and bent to grab my legs, picking me up and tossing me effortlessly over his shoulder.

"Gianluca!" I gasped, laughing.

"Naomi, if we only have three more days, then I better show you more of Abruzzo, fast!"

I laughed, and he carried me out to the car, where we sped off.

He took me to a beautiful little ranch to go horseback riding. A kind old Italian man led us to the stable, and pointed out to us the field we should ride in with the horses.

I hadn't been horseback riding before, but I was eager to try. I chose a beautiful pinto, and Gianluca picked out a white horse, like the prince he is.

The man helped us saddle them up, and then we were off, on the trail.

My horse was very submissive, and easy to ride, obeying my every tug and touch. Gianluca's was a little less agreeable, turning around and around and standing still, while he pleaded with it in Italian and I laughed.

I decided to try running, and I gave the horse the command. Suddenly I was flying across the plain, whooping, my heart pounding as the world went rushing by. The hooves against the ground sounded very appealing, and I held on for dear life, my heart racing with excitement.

Eventually the horse slowed and went back to a trot, and I leaned over to pat it and talk baby-talk to it, panting with excitement. It was a sweet thing, and it immediately turned at my command to bring me back to Gianluca, who was bouncing around on his horse in the distance.

I laughed, and watched him try to reason with the thing as I approached.

Then it shook its head angrily and went up on its back legs, whinnying, and Gianluca tumbled off backwards, yelling something in Italian.

"Gianluca!?" I yelled, sliding to the ground and running over to him.

The white horse shied away, and I dropped down next to Gianluca, who was solely sitting up, groaning.

I knelt next to him, resting a hand on knee.

"Gianluca? Are you okay?"

He rubbed the back of his head, brows furrowed, and I placed my on his chest and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.

"Gianluca?"

He smiled and placed an arm on my back.

"I'm fine, Naomi. It just doesn't like me."

I laughed, and something bumped against my side. My horse was nudging me, and I reached up to rest my hand on its face, giggling.

"Well, apparently yours likes you," he said. "Gosh, Naomi, I can't believe you went for a gallop! How was it?"

"Amazing! It's like flying, Gianluca! You could try on mine."

He shook his head.

"No way, I think I'm done with horses for now," and he went back to rubbing the back of his head.

I laughed and stood, reaching down to help him up.

"I got it," he said, brushing grass stains off his jeans and struggling to his feet.

I turned and looked over at the white horse, who was grazing.

I started to walk up to it.

"Naomi!"

I went right up in front of it, and it raised its head to gaze at me.

"You, my friend, have an attitude problem, don't you?"

I raised my hand, and slowly reached out to touch.

"Aww, hello! You're being sweet now? Awww!"

I smiled as it moved closer to me, and I patted its side, reaching for the reigns.

"Aww, do you want to walk back with me? I won't ride you, okay? Will you be nice to me?"

It nudged my hand, and I rubbed its nose again, turning to look at Gianluca.

He put his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"Of course it likes you."

I laughed.

"Take mine, Gianluca. Let's walk back, okay?"

He nodded, and carefully reached for my horses' reigns, but it indignantly pulled back.

I laughed, and Gianluca tried again, to no avail.

Gianluca threw his hands in the air.

"Ay-ay-ay, I give up!"

I laughed and went over to kiss him, taking the reigns of both horses.

Back in the car, I asked what we were doing next, and he decided to take me to a little café for lunch, where we got some kind of fancy little Italian sandwiches.

"Where are we going after this?" I asked, brushing crumbs from my hands.

"Well, I don't know, what do you want to do next?"

"Didn't you tell me the other day you knew of some mountain hiking trails?"

He froze, and then looked up at me.

"Yes… but I assumed you wouldn't want to go back because of the whole… mountain panic attack thing that happened."

I smiled.

"Nah, I still want to go."

He reached out and touched my arm.

"Are you sure?"

"Three days left, Gianluca."

He smiled and nodded, leaning toward me to kiss my cheek.

"Okay, then, next stop: the mountains!"

The trail we went to was very rocky and had many twists and turns, but it gave us great views of Abruzzo from up high. I tugged on Gianluca's arm over and over to point out different things to him, and he enjoyed seeing my childlike excitement.

He took some pictures of the view and posted them online for the fan to be jealous over, and then trudged along behind me as I dashed ahead to examine some animal prints, and then peer over the cliffs, and then run over to a cluster of flowers.

I turned to him and smiled brightly, and he smiled back and reached for my hand as we began to head back to the beginning of the trail.

He yawned, and I kissed his cheek.

"Am I tiring you out, Gianluca?"

He smiled and nodded, rubbing his eyes, and I grinned at his adorable sleepiness.

Back at the car, I offered to drive, and he gratefully handed me the keys, collapsing into the passenger seat.

The Ginoble house was silent and empty, and I discovered a note on the counter saying that the group of adults had gone for a hike in the mountains.

"Oh, Gianluca, we might have unknowingly walked near them!"

"Maybe so," he said, kicking off his shoes and tossing them out onto the porch.

He flopped onto the sofa and laid down, stretching out and putting his hands behind his head.

"I don't know how you do this every day, Naomi!" he said, "I'm so tired!"

I giggled, and went upstairs to get Pride and Prejudice, then returned to the living room with an offer to read to him.

I sat cross-legged on the floor next to the sofa, though he moved as if to make room for me. I opened the book and began to read, and before I finished the chapter he was asleep, one hand behind his head and the other resting on his chest.

I quietly watched him for a minute, the steady rise and fall of his chest, his quiet breathing, admiring his handsome sleeping face.

I quietly leaned over him and kissed his cheek, then tiptoed out of the room.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Later that evening, my mother went out with Piero and Ignazio's mothers to have dinner, and I was left at the Ginoble house with Gianluca and his parents.

I borrowed Gianluca's iPod and sat alone in the guestroom to try writing a short story I had been rolling around in my mind. I wasn't completely sure what the plot was yet, but I scribbled over several pages, trying to begin by conveying the love of a young couple. Down the hallway, Gianluca was finalizing that song he had been working on. Every once in a while he would sing a few notes, and repeat them over and over again to test them out, and I decided to forsake the iPod to listen to him.

His parents were talking downstairs, and the constant murmur of their voices was comforting. It reminded me of when my parents used to chat in the kitchen when I played in the living room.

I straightened my stack of loose-leaf, and tapped the pencil thoughtfully against my knee.

"Gianluca!?" called up the stairs. "Your father and I need to talk to you about something important!"

I sat up and listened as Gianluca went down the hallway and down the staircase to join in on the murmur of voices.

I looked down at the blank pages before me and tried to think of what would happen in my story now that I had introduced the couple, but nothing came to mind.

I twisted a curl around my finger as I pondered over the nonexistent plotline, listening to the murmuring, which stopped moments later. I heard Gianluca began to speak, quicker and louder than his parents. His mother spoke, slower than before, and his dad said something sharply. Gianluca started to speak again, and his voice was raised, which provoked a harsh response from his father.

There was definitely an argument going on, quick words being exchanged in raised voices from all of them.

I felt out of place, as if I wasn't supposed to hear this. My mother wasn't in the house at the moment, and I was the only one present who was not a Ginoble. The argument continued, and I stood and pulled on my tennis shoes, feeling a bit uneasy at hearing the family argument.

I went to the window and opened it, peeing downward to discover that I couldn't safely reach the ground.

So I left the guestroom and crept down the steps, peering cautiously into the living room. The three of them were in the master bedroom, and arguing in Italian.

I could see Gianluca in the doorway with his back to me, speaking slowly, obviously frustrated, and his father tried to silence him to no avail. He sounded desperate, and he began to plead with his mother, his Italian starting to sound choked up. When she began to speak, I was reminded of my being out of place.

I went quickly through the living room and out the front door, closing it quietly behind me.

I jumped off the porch steps and looked around. Where would I go? I'm not allowed to go exploring after dark. I impulsively set out in the direction of Piero and Ignazio's houses, jogging through the dirt path. I stopped in between them, unsure of where I was going.

I slid my hands into my pockets and turned to gaze at the mountains in the distance, wondering what the Ginobles were arguing about.

A door opening interrupted the quiet, and I heard Ignazio call, "Naomi, what are you doing?"

I turned to see him standing on his porch, smiling at me.

I shrugged.

"I just wanted to get out of the house for a little while…"

"Well, I just made some pasta, if you would like some."

I nodded, glad for the offer, and went up the porch steps and into the house.

He had made some kind of creamy sauce for the pasta, and he dished some out for me.

Then he sat across from me, and studied my face as I tasted it. I grinned and looked up at him.

"This is amazing, Ignazio!? You made this?"

He smiled triumphantly.

"Remember how I used to be chubby?"

I smiled.

"I made this A LOT…"

I laughed.

"I don't blame you, Ignazio! It's so good!"

"_Gratzi!_ So how was your day today? Did you take another recovery day?"

I smiled and shook my head.

"Should've known Naomi wouldn't stay inside a second longer than she had to!"

I laughed, and filled him in on my day of horseback riding and mountain trekking, and he was greatly interesting in Gianluca's riding skills, prodding me until I admitted that he fell off.

Then he laughed and laughed, and I laughed with him.

He told me about his day, which apparently consisted of messing with Piero, hanging around the market, and playing video games.

Hearing the ways in which he picked at Piero cracked me up, and in no time I had almost forgotten about my reason for leaving the Ginoble house. Almost.

As Ignazio washed our dishes afterwards, I sat on the couch and checked my phone to see if Gianluca had texted me. He hadn't, and I sighed, wondering what had been going on, what he had been pleading with his parents for, why he was getting choked up…

Ignazio came to sit next to me.

"Okay, Naomi, now you have to tell me what's going on."

"Huh?"

"When you were outside, you seemed a little distressed, and I want to know why you left the Ginoble house. Did you and Gianluca have a fight or something?"

I shook my head.

"No, but he and his parents did. I only left because I felt like I shouldn't be hearing it."

He nodded.

"What were they saying?"

"I don't know. It was in Italian."

"Well, Naomi, people fight with their parents all the time. It's nothing to fret over."

"But… he just sounded so desperate, and he was pleading with them…I just…I hope nothing bad's happened."

He nodded, and I waited for him to say something, but he didn't. Instead he reached out to hug me, reassuringly rubbing my back.

"I'm sure he will tell you what's going on."

"Thanks, Ignazio."

I glanced up at him, to find that he was staring past me at the window. He released me and and went to it, pulling back the curtains.

"Naomi."

He motioned me over, and pointed at the Ginoble house.

Gianluca was sitting on the porch steps, his knees pulled to his chest and his head resting on them, buried in his arms.

I reached out to gingerly touch the window, and Ignazio nodded to me.

"Go and see him."

I nodded and gave him a quick hug, then went out the door and walked cautiously toward the porch, keeping my eyes on Gianluca's huddled figure. He kept his head down until I was only a few feet away, then he peered up at me, his handsome face streaked with tears.

"Gianluca?" I asked softly, surprised.

He quickly ran his hands over his face and gazed up at me.

I knelt on the step below him, placing my hands on his knees and waiting for a response. We looked at each other, and then he reached out and pulled me into him so tightly I couldn't move, and I let him cling to me. He took sharp intakes of breath, and I desperately wanted to know what was going on.

"Gianluca?"

His grip loosened, and he moved back to look at me.

I reached up for his face and tenderly wiped away the tear streaks on his cheeks.

"Ginaluca?" I whispered.

He kissed me very sweetly, and wiped his own eyes and took my hands in his. He held me on his thighs, with my head on his shoulder and his arm around my back.

"Naomi, my love, in only two days you will be going home…"

I nodded and said softly, "Well, all of us, me and you and Piero and Ignazio."

He shook his head.

"No. Not me."

I stopped breathing.

_"What?"_

He squeezed my hand in his and began to explain.

"Naomi, my parents have missed this place so much that they refuse to leave! They want to spend the rest of the summer here, and then return to the U.S. at the end! They reason that the boys and I can write music separately, and then collaborate when we meet up again."

"I…I'm not going to see you until the end of the summer?"

He nodded.

"Oh, Gianluca, no!"

I started to tear up.

"Oh, Naomi, don't cry, you're going to make me start again!"

"I can't help it! I love you, Gianluca! I don't want to be apart from you!"

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and his arms went around my back.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and Gianluca was crying, too.

"How, Gianluca!? How can I leave you for the whole summer! My mom's never going to let me stay here with you!"

"I know, Naomi, I love you so much, it's not fair!"

"Oh, Gianluca!"

I kissed him and he kissed me over and over again, holding me so tightly…

I wiped my face over and over again, but the tears refused to stop, and I started to gasp for breath. I clung to his shirt.

"I don't want to leave, Gianluca! I only want to be with you!"

"Naomi, I desire the same."

He covered my face in kisses.

"I love you so much, Gianluca!"

He took my hand and pressed it against his chest, with his over it.

"Oh, my heart, Naomi, it hurts!"

I kissed him, feeling mine hurting too.

We cried on the porch, wrapped in each other's arms, unwilling to let go because in only a few days we'd give anything to return to this moment.

Eventually, when we had cried ourselves out, we sat on the porch in each other's arms, listening to the silence. I rested my hand on his chest and felt it rise and fall as he breathed. He kept one hand around my back, and the other slipped down to lightly rest on my waist.

"Naomi."

I lifted my head from his shoulder and watched the strange expression on his face. Sad, but determined, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"Naomi, I love you, and I don't want to be the one to…hold you down."

"Gianluca?"

"Hush, my dear. You are going to be apart from me from a while, and to me you are worth the wait, but…I know that you might not want…to try to keep our relationship going while we're apart."

"Gianluca, I-"

"Naomi, what I'm saying here is that if you want to…end it-" his voice cracked, "then I'll just have to accept that. Don't let me hold you down."

His eyes filled with tears, and he quickly swiped at them.

I kissed him, and he held me very tightly for a second, but then released me, and placed his hands on the porch floor. He watched me, waiting for my answer.

"No, Gianluca, no! I don't want to end it! It's only the summer! It's going to be hard, I know, but you're worth the wait! We can do it, my Gianluca, and we'll have so much fun when you go back!"

He sighed and then closed his eyes and smiled..

"Good, I'm so glad!"

I kissed his cheek, and to my delight his arms came up again to hold me.

I rested there in his arms on the porch for a while, kissing him and hugging him and delighting in his presence and his touch.

Then eventually I kissed him one last time, then got up from his lap and went inside to take a shower.

The cool waters felt good, and the crying had made me sleepy. When I emerged from the bathroom, I found my mother in her guestroom, and I went to tell her the news.

As I spoke, the tears started to fall again, and my mother tried to comfort me to no avail.

I was so happy he was mine, but I was going to miss him so much.

I left her and ran to Gianluca, who accepted me with open arms, and held me and cried with me until I was unable to cry anymore and was drifting to sleep with my head on his shoulder. He carefully picked me up and carried me to the guestroom, where he tucked me in and kissed me over and over before he left.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

When I returned from my early morning walk the next day, Gianluca was waiting for me, and he told me that it would be irresponsible for him to take me to Italy and not bring me to Rome.

So we left in the car, and drove for a while, singing silly American pop songs as we went and joking around.

When we arrived, I was astounded by all the beauty surrounding me. We traveled all throughout the city, in both the car and on foot, admiring the breathtaking sights in every direction. Gianluca showed me the things that most people can only dream of ever seeing, the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Baths of Caracalla, the aqueducts, the Pantheon. Everything had the most tiny and intricate detailing, and looked as if it must have taken a million years to create.

"Well, you know what they say," Gianluca said, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

I laughed and kissed him. We held hands and stuck close to one another, enjoying our time together. I took perhaps a thousand pictures to show my mom, and Gianluca asked me to send him some to post for the fans.

We got pizza for lunch, but the real deal; Italian pizza! It was like pizza time a thousand!

While we were there, Gianluca was greeted by many fans, and he introduced me to every single one, though I would have been content to stay in the background.

The fans snapped pictures of Gianluca and I when they were walking away, which seemed to amuse Gianluca.

When we eventually arrived back at the Ginoble house, I felt very gleeful, bouncing around and singing Il Volo songs, and generally acting very silly.

Gianluca laughed and chased me around the living room for a while, and eventually caught me and collapsed on the sofa with me in his arms. He kicked off his shoes and I reached to kiss, them then wiggled out of his grasp.

He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Yes, Gianluca, you sleep off that pizza!" I teased, and he laughed and reminded me off all the physical activity he'd done that day. I kissed his cheek and turned to leave for a walk before it got too dark, but he pulled me back to him and held me for a few minutes, kissing me and hugging me.

When I returned, he was still asleep, and I went up to my room to work on the story I had started.

In the story, the two lovers became separated for a long time, and neither knew when they would see the other. But their connection was so strong that whenever they closed their eyes, they were together again, and they interacted simultaneously in a world of their own, that they lived in so much it eventually became a reality. The couple lived there in the place they had created, for all time, together…

It was a strange story, but I loved it, and the idea of a separate world for Gianluca and I brought me to tears. I stapled the stack of pages together and hid them in a desk drawer to return to later.

The next morning was my last in Abruzzo, and I beat the sunrise in my eagerness to go exploring one last time. I stayed out until past lunch, biking to the mountains, the beach, through forests and fields, to the marketplace, and eventually back to the Ginoble household, where Gianluca ran out to pick me up and hug me and kiss me over and over again.

He took me out to lunch, and then we returned home to sit on the porch together and talk. He asked that I tell him more stories about me, so I did my best to think of good ones to tell him, and then I asked for him to tell me stories, which he obediently did.

He took me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, in his suit, and I wore my red dress. It was our last evening together before we'd be separated for more than a month, and we couldn't get enough of each other.

Afterwards, he took me to the beach for one last walk on it, and after a few minutes of gazing out over the sea, my eyes filled with tears as I thought of the long period of waiting ahead of me. He put a hand on my hip and held up his other for me to take, and started to sing to me.

_"Smile, though your heart is aching…Smile, even though it's breaking, When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by if you smile, through your fear and sorrow… Smile, and maybe tomorrow… you'll see the sun come shining through for you…" _

He never took his eyes off of my face, and as he sang, his voice was threatening to break.

When he finished, I kissed him, and he released my waist to take my other hand.

"Being away from you for so long is going to be very painful for me, no doubt about it. I'm going to think about you and miss you the entire time, and I know I won't stop dreaming of you."

He kissed me.

"Gianluca, I'll do my best to get through the summer without you. I miss you so much, and I'll hang onto the dream of your coming home!"

He smiled and kissed my cheeks, and then my lips, and wiped at his eyes.

"Naomi, I can't tell you how happy that makes me!"

He pulled me close to him, and kissed me so sweetly that the summer without him seemed even more daunting than before.

My mother and I, and Piero and Ignazio's families had to get up at five A.M. to catch our flight.

Gianluca got up even earlier than that to make pancakes for everyone, and then he came upstairs to shut off my alarm and wake me up instead. It was the sweetest wake-up I've ever received, kisses all over my face, and his hands lifting me from the bed and then steadying me on the floor.

He placed something in my arms, and the light of the lamp revealed to me his familiar thin gray T-shirt.

"You'll keep it for me?" he whispered, smiling crookedly. I held it to my face and inhaled the scent, and then nodded.

He went downstairs, and I changed and quietly and took the story I had written from the desk drawer. I tiptoed to Gianluca's room and slipped it under his pillow for him to discover later, then I went downstairs to get breakfast.

Gianluca went to alert Ignazio's and Piero's families of the pancakes, and moments later the Ginoble household was filled with sleepy Italians.

Piero hadn't even bothered to change before coming over, and he stumbled in with crazy stick-up hair, wearing nothing but shorts with cartoon characters printed on them, which made me fall off my chair in a fit of laughter. I think it brightened everyone's morning a little.

I sat with the three boys on the couch, and confided in them that I was afraid of having a panic attack on the plane.

Ignazio and Piero reached out to touch my shoulders reassuringly.

"We've got you, Naomi," Ignazio said, and Piero nodded.

"You'll be fine," Gianluca said. "My boys will take of you, right?"

They nodded.

After what seemed like only a few moments, we were getting in the car to drive to the airport, and I sat with Gianluca and snuggled up to him for the last time in a long while, looking up to kiss him every few moments.

When the time came for me to leave him, he pulled me tightly to him and held me for a minute, then kissed me and slipped off his necklace to put it around my neck.

"I'm hoping that you'll be the one to give it back to me, like before," he said, and I had to wipe my eyes, my lip trembling.

"Ti amo," I said, hugging him and burying my head in his shirt, "I'll miss you so much!"

"Oh, I'm never going to stop dreaming about you, Naomi! I love you so much!"

He kissed me, and then he released me to hug Ignazio and Piero good-bye.

"Don't stop writing music, guys!" Gianluca said. "We're going to have to make up for a whole summer spent apart!"

They agreed, and Gianluca reached out to me and took my hand, leaning to kiss me one last time.

"Take care of her, guys," he said, and the each offered me an arm, which I took.

We started to walk away, calling goodbyes back and forth, and perhaps when he thought I couldn't see him anymore, Gianluca broke down in tears.

On the plane Piero and Ignazio each sat on a side of me, with my mom in front of us with Piero's and Ignazio's mothers, who had become like her best friends.

I had the misfortune of suffering a panic attack, and I quietly shook and cried and tried to hide my face from other passengers, while Piero and Ignazio tried to calm me down. They both looked scared at first, but then they managed to take on calm dispositions that helped me to relax a little.

Then I slept, first leaning on my hands, and then unknowingly leaning on Ignazio, which I later found out he took a picture of to convince Gianluca that they were looking out for me.

When I woke, I was bored, restless, and anxious, and the boys teased each other and sang pop songs in hushed tones for me, and acted like such lunatics that my mood greatly increased.

When I entered my house, I dropped my suitcase on the kitchen floor and breathe in the familiar scent, then went out to check on my garden. My friends had kept it in perfect shape, and I called them to thank them for it. The bunnies were nowhere to be found, but I suspected they'd be back soon.

I went inside to unpack my suitcase, taking the time to fold every item of clothing and stack up every book, which pleased my mother.

The jetlag tugged at me, and I took a nap, dreaming of Gianluca's voice, his smile, his touch…

When I woke, I put on my shoes, brushed my hair, and went outside to begin the weeks without Gianluca.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Though I was hurting, I understood that I wasn't missing a part of me, I was missing Gianluca. He was a real, living, breathing, wonderful boy worth waiting the whole summer for. I was in love with him, and he was in love with me, and we would both hang on until we could be together again, because our relationship was strong enough to handle the stress. I longed to see him, kiss him, hug him, and every day I yearned for him to be here with me.

But I refused to lie in my room all day and cry. I woke in the morning and went exploring like I always did, I read my books, and I worked on writing stories. I was living in a constant waiting period, waiting for Gianluca to come back. It was painful, being away from the one I loved so much, and I cried a few times, and I cuddled his T-shirt because it smelled like him. I sat on his porch a few times to watch the sunrise and pretend he was there with me, and I always wore his necklace.

I went places with my school friends to distract myself from the ache, and Piero and Ignazio took me with them to meet-and-greets, and to interviews, and kept watch over me like guards.

The time difference between my home and Abruzzo was too great for Gianluca to tell me goodnight, but every day he called me at sunrise to tell me good-morning, and tell me how much he missed and loved me. I talked to him while I got up and readied myself for another day without him beside me. We video-chatted a few times, though we agreed that the lag was an annoyance. He sent me a bottle of sand from the Abruzzo beach, a bottle of dirt from the mountains, some pressed flowers from a field, and a bottle of wine as a joke, which I willingly handed over to my mother.

I took our separation one day at a time, and eventually an entire week had passed, but I couldn't help thinking of the many more that lay ahead.

Every day I missed him, and longed for him, but I kept myself dreaming about our reunion.

_It's only the summer. Many couples have had to wait longer._

Day by day I went about my life without him, and doing so didn't seem to be getting easier. I listened to Il Volo albums on repeat, and "I Bring You to My Senses" became my anthem.

I bought a calendar to track the days, which I had never done before.

I hung it up and crossed off the days we had been apart one by one.

When our separation reached two weeks, I had a lot of things I wanted to tell him, but was unsure of how to do so over the phone, as my thoughts weren't very organized. So I took out a pen and paper, went out to the garden, and wrote page after page of my thoughts for him, noting everything I loved about him.

Piero and Ignazio came over and sat beside me just as I finished. I neatly folded it up and stuck it in a plain white envelope, and wrote Gianluca's name on the front, impulsively adding the "Ginoble" as he had done in his letter to me at the beginning of the summer.

"What are you doing?" Piero asked.

"I wrote a love letter. You'll think it's very sappy, but I hope he likes it. I don't want to send it off in the mail, though. I think maybe I'll keep it and give it to him when he gets back."

I clutched it to my chest and sighed.

"Actually, though, I'll probably lose it before he returns! Dang it! How am I ever going to keep it safe until he returns!?"

"I can keep it, if you would like me to," Piero offered, then raised his right hand and drew an "X" over his heart. "I promise that I won't read it! I won't lose it if you give it to me, and I'll keep it for you until he gets back. Only if you want me to, though."

"You swear you won't read it?"

"If I do, Ignazio had permission to keep my Beats."

"How about your glasses too?" Ignazio jumped in, "Then you'd be in a bind!"

He laughed and nodded.

"Okay, my Beats _and _my glasses."

I laughed and handed the letter over, glad that it would be in safe storage for Gianluca's return.

"Okay, Naomi, we actually came over to invite you to an Il Volo concert tonight," Ignazio said.

"Wait, what? What!? Il Volo has three members! How are you going to do a concert without Gianluca?"

"We'll make it work, you'll see," Piero said, tucking the letter in his pocket, "It's a very small concert, and Gianluca wants us to do it. We've been talking about it for a while over the phone."

I was quiet, then I shook my head.

"But Gianluca is in every single one of Il Volo's songs! Are you just going to sing his part for him in each one?"

"Actually, we have some new music written," Ignazio pointed out, "In Abruzzo, Gianluca got some music recorded with the help of our producers. Usually he's the one to start singing in each of our songs, but now that has changed…"

"Guys!" I said indignantly. "I can't believe you're going to sing without Gianluca! It won't be the same without him!"

They nodded.

"You're right, Naomi," Ignazio said, "A concert without Gianluca wouldn't be the same. But please come with us. It'll be great, you'll see."

I was quiet, and Piero put a hand on my shoulder.

"We'll pick you up at seven. Wear something nice, okay?"

"Hey!"

Ignazio smiled brightly at him, and they stood.

"Guys, you can't just-!"

"See you tonight, Naomi," Ignazio said, and they walked away.

I felt uneasy. Was Gianluca really okay about them singing without him? Il Volo is a trio, and you can't have a trio with only two members!"

I went inside and called him, but he didn't pick up.

I sat on the bedroom floor to think and worry.

I went to my pictures of Gianluca and scrolled through them.

"It's been two weeks, Gianluca, and they're already singing without you! Please come home, I miss you so much!"

Two weeks. We had matched the time that we had spent together in Abruzzo, only these two weeks seemed very long.

I sighed. I hated to be away from him so long. But I love him, and I'll wait…

"_Here alone… I wish you were here to hold. Time is moving much too slow without you. When it gets too hard, you're never too far. I bring you to my senses, senses. I see you when I close my eyes. I feel you on my fingertips; I taste you on my lips…"_

In the evening, I put on a pretty green dress and white wedges, deciding to leave my hair down, but applying a little makeup. For jewelry I wore only Gianluca's necklace, hoping to involve him in the concert in some way. I tried to call him again, but he didn't answer.

The doorbell rang, and my mother let in Piero and Ignazio, who were both in black suits. She flitted around for a moment, telling me I needed a clutch, and trying to find a camera. After she gushed about how cute I looked and how much fun I was going to have, she dismissed us, and each boy offered me an arm and led me out to the car.

"You're going to a great time tonight, trust me," Ignazio said as he started the engine.

"Okay," I nodded, still wondering about the concert.

When we reached the little indoor theatre, Ignazio glanced back at Piero.

"Okay, give it to her."

"What?" I asked, turning to look at Piero.

Piero grinned and straightened his glasses as if about to tell me something important.

"Naomi, you know that Gianluca was writing a song on his own, right?"

I nodded.

"He finished it. He started writing it in Italian, but he decided to make it English. The music he recorded in Abruzzo was for that song."

"Okay…"

"Tonight you're going to hear that song for the first time. Gianluca sent us the lyrics to give to you."

He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. I started to unfold it, but Ignazio put his hand over mine.

"Wait until you get inside."

"Okaaay?"

Piero and Ignazio climbed out of the car, so I did the same and went around to stand with them.

Ignazio gently placed his hand on my back and pointed at the entrance.

"That's where you go in. We're going around through the back."

"I can't go in with you?"

"You'll be okay. Just go in and sit."

"But, Ignazio…"

"Go on Naomi," Piero said, "Trust us. Don't be scared, okay?"

I stared quietly at them, clutching the paper of lyrics, and then nodded. I turned to the theatre and walked forward, while they watched me from behind. I opened the heavy door and stepped inside.

The lights in the foyer were dim, and it was absolutely silent. I turned to look at the boys, but the door closed, shutting me in. I turned and looked at the door to the stage in front of me. I took reluctant steps forward, and the sound echoed around me in the quiet. The dim lighting was a bit eerie, so I hurried into the theatre, and froze when I saw that it was completely empty. The door swung closed behind me, knocking me forward. I steadied myself, clutching the paper nervously and looking around at all the empty seats in the dim stage lighting.

"Guys?" I called.

No answer.

I slowly started to walk up to the stage, and stopped at about the middle of the theatre. I quietly slid into a seat and unfolded the paper, smoothing it out on my knee. I sighed when I realized that it was in Gianluca's handwriting. I started to read, and blushed when I realized that it was about me. It described a girl who was in love with nature, and nature that was in love with a girl but didn't quite know how to handle her. I was blushing and tearing up, and I hugged the paper to my chest and smiled.

"Oh, Gianluca!"

Music started playing, and I jumped and looked up.

Ignazio and Piero walked out onto the stage, holding microphones, and Piero began to sing the first lines of the song.

I smiled at them and wiped my eyes.

Gianluca had marked on the paper who would sing each part of the song, and Ignazio began to sing next.

I folded my arms on the seat in front of me and rested my chin on them to listen. The two boys harmonized, and it was absolutely beautiful.

So there wasn't really an Il Volo concert! They two of them were just showing me the song Gianluca wrote for me!

I sat back in my seat and held up the paper in front of my face in the dim lighting, following the lyrics as they sang.

As Ignazio and Piero's lines came to a close, I stared confused at the paper, which stated that Gianluca was next to sing. How could they sing this without Gianluca?

The notes came to a close, and a new voice began to sing, deep and strong and full of richness. My eyes widened, and I lowered my arm to see Piero and Ignazio step aside so that Gianluca could walk up between them, wearing his navy blue suit and gazing upon me as he sang, a crooked smile on his lips. My hands clasped over my mouth in shock, and my heart jumped around in my chest. I was shaking with excitement as I stared at him up on the stage in front of me, and he sang with such beauty and richness that the tears started to escape from my eyes and run down my blushing cheeks. He walked up to the edge of the stage, and Piero and Ignazio stood behind him, and joined their voices in with his.

I smiled and cried and watched them sing. Ignazio and Piero dropped their microphones from their mouths, and as Gianluca finished the song on his own, he jumped down from the stage and stood in the aisle. I jumped up and gripped the seat in front of me to calm the shaking, and wiped my eyes. I stepped into the aisle and stood before him, and he came toward me, holding out his hand. I reached out and placed my hand in his, and he held it tightly. I stared at him in awe, in wonder of him standing before me, real and outside of my dreams.

The second the music ended, I threw my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Oh, Gianluca!" I cried, and he wrapped his arms around me as we went falling down in the aisle.

He was shaking too, and when I turned my face up to his, his lips found mine. He pulled back and said breathlessly, "I missed you so much, Naomi! I love you! I love you!"

He took my head in his hands and covered my face with kisses. I reached up to grasp his wrists as he did so, and at last he reached my lips, and kissed me so sweetly and tenderly that more tears fell from my eyes.

"Oh, Gianluca!" I cried when he pulled back.

He pulled me close to him again, and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, taking in his wonderful scent.  
"I'm back, Naomi! I'm here!"

I knelt up and reached to wipe his cheeks, wet from tears. He did the same for me, and then kissed me again, taking my hands.

"Gianluca, how are you here? You won't have to leave, will you!?"

I sat back on my heels, and he stood and reached down to pull me up, leading me to the now empty stage. He took me around the waist and lifted me up, setting me gently on the stage and taking my hands in his.

"Naomi, most people my age would be going to college this year, like you, and so many of them are beginning to live on their own. And I've already been to so many different parts of the entire world! My parents started to understand how much I love you, and they agreed to let me live here by myself until they come back!"

"Gianluca, really!?"

"Yes! We don't have to be apart anymore, Naomi!"

"Oh, Gianluca, I'm so happy!"

His hands went around my waist, and I bent over to kiss him, reaching for his face.

When he pulled back, I pushed off the stage and he caught me. I wrapped my feet around his waist and he held me, kissing me.

Then he carefully set me down on the floor, and I smiled at him and then threw my arms around him again, not wanting to stop touching him.

He laughed and kissed my head and held me firmly.

Then he stood back, taking one of my hands, and with the other he pulled from his coat a white envelope with his name written on it my handwriting.

"Oh, Piero gave you the love letter!"

"Naomi…Oh, Naomi, I…this was…I…"

He was fumbling for words, and I leaned forward to kiss him softly.

When I pulled back, he smiled.

"Naomi, I love you."

"I love you too, Gianluca."

He kissed me, then scooped me up and held me close to him.

"Come on, my love; let's go home, shall we?"

I nodded, and he carried me through the theatre and out the front door, and brought me to the car, where Piero and Ignazio were waiting, smiling.

"Thank you, guys!" I gushed, and they smiled and shook their heads.

"It's our pleasure, Naomi!"

Gianluca whistled the song about me as he drove and I asked, "Gianluca, what's the name of that song?"

He smiled crookedly at me, "Beautiful."

When we reached home, Ignazio and Piero hugged me and left us alone. We went to the garden, and Gianluca asked me to dance with him. I nodded, and he started "Questo Amore" playing on his phone.

He set it on the bench and put a hand gently on my waist, and held the other up for me to take.

I put my arm around his shoulder, and rested my other hand in his. He sang softly to me, and I started to cry for joy all over again.

The necklace was cold against my chest, and when the song ended, I slipped it off and put it around his neck.

"Gianluca, I'm sorry that we couldn't be together in Abruzzo longer, in your home."

He shook his head and pulled me close.

"This is my home now. Here, with you."

He started to sing "This Time" to me, without any music, and I lay my head on his shoulder and smiled blissfully.

_"Tell me you're in, tell me I'm home, Promise you'll stay…and don't let me go!"_

When he finished, he kissed my cheek, and then I kissed his lips.

"Ti amo, Naomi."

"Ti amo, Gianluca."

I kissed his cheek, and then stepped back and picked up his phone, turning off the music and sitting down on the bench. He sat next to me and put an arm around the back of the bench. I cuddled up next to him, laying my head on his chest.

"Did my boys take care of you?"

"Yes, Gianluca, they were wonderful. Did you realize that we were apart for the same amount of time we spent in Abruzzo?"

He nodded.

"I know, that's crazy! But now we're together again, and I'll get to see you every day! I'll get to tell you good morning in person, and kiss you good-night each evening! I get to walk with you, and talk with you, and sing to you…"

His arm was around my shoulders, holding me tightly to him as he gazed at me contentedly. We rested like that on the bench for a while in silence, enjoying each other's presence.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and a little bunny hopped out and about.

"Oh, look, Gianluca!" I said, tugging on his coat, "The little bunnies finally came back!"

"I see," he said, "They can't stand being away from you either."

I smiled, and he kissed my cheek.

"Naomi, I was so surprised when my parents allowed me to come and live here. I guess they realized that I wasn't happy being in Abruzzo without you. They asked your mother what she thought about me living by myself next door, and she said that it would be fine, so here I am."

"Oh, I'm so happy, Gianluca!" I sighed, and then gripped his hand in excitement. "We're going to have so much fun together!"

He laughed, and I snuggled up to him.

He held me and kissed my head and murmured about how much he missed me.

"Gianluca," I said, "Tell me about tonight. How'd you plan all this?"

"Well, as soon as you left, I started fantasizing about our reunion, and I started thinking of surprising you like that. I kept on writing your song, imaging being able to walk out and sing about you _to you_! When my parents told me I could come home, I called the boys and told them my plan, and they agreed to help me with it. They secured the theatre for tonight, and I flew back today and went straight there to get things ready. What did you think?"

"I loved it! It was so amazing, Gianluca! I was so surprised! I thought Ignazio and Piero were doing a concert without you, and it made me uneasy to think about it. I tried to call you, but I guess you were getting ready to come back, huh?"

He nodded and looked over at his house.

"I haven't even been back to the house yet. Ignazio brought home my suitcase. Hey, I wonder what he did with it…"

I sat up and looked over at the house, and then busted out laughing.

Gianluca turned to me, confused.

"What?"

I laughed and pointed at the black thing on the roof.

"Gianluca, look up there!"

He turned and jumped up, running a hand through his hair.

"Aw, man, Ignazio!"

I laughed, and he laughed too, and then bent down and offered me his arm. We went through the gate and onto the back porch, and he dug his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

We went in, and he let go of my arm and went to the hall closet to get a ladder.

"Give me a minute, my love."

I laughed and flopped down on the couch to wait for him, looking around at the quiet house.

He returned with the ladder, which he placed back into the closet, and the suitcase, which he threw into his room, shaking his head.

"Ignazio's so ridiculous!" he said, and then came over to the couch and sat next to me, reaching down to take off his sleek black shoes. I kicked off my wedges and then tucked my legs under me, snuggling up to Gianluca as he grinned and put his arm around me, and kissed my cheek. He reached out and pulled me onto his lap to kiss me, and I rested my hands on my shoulders.

"I missed you so much, my love! The wait is over! I can't believe I'm here with you! It feels like an amazing dream, but you're so…soft…and real…!"

I smiled and kissed him.

"I'm real, Gianluca, I promise!"

He smiled crookedly and reached for my face, kissing me again.

"Oh, I love you Gianluca!" I sighed, "I'm so glad you're back!"

The wait was over, and we kissed and held each other and admired each other.

"Oh, Gianluca," I realized minutes later as he rested his forehead against mine, "In Abruzzo it's… six in the morning, isn't it!?"  
He smiled and nodded.

"Aren't you tired?"

He nodded, and I smiled and kissed his cheek, then moved to sit next to him. I cuddled up to him, and his arms went around me. I rested against him in silence, his arm around me with his hand resting lightly on my side. After a while, his firm grip on me loosened. I looked up and saw that he was dozing. I smiled and lightly kissed his cheek. He stayed asleep, and I quietly watched him, admiring the handsome face I had missed.

I slowly got up from the couch, trying hard not to wake him, and took the pad and paper from the coffee table, kneeling down to write.

I slipped the note into his hand, and then leaned over him and kissed him.

"I love you Gianluca," I whispered, and his eyelids fluttered, but he didn't wake. After all, according to Abruzzo, he hadn't slept all night, just so he could come home and surprise me.

I leaned down and picked up my shoes, and crept across the room and out the front door, turning to look over him one last time, smiling at the thought of him discovering my note when he woke up, _"Good-night, Gianluca. I'm so happy you're home, and I can't wait to see you in the morning! Ti amo!"_

The wait was over. My Gianluca was home.

**Author's Note:**

***I hoped you liked it! Feel free to email me and tell me what you think at annawritesfanfiction at gmaildotcom. Thank you for reading! ****_Arrivederci! -Annawritesfanfiction_**


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